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Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Japan knife attack: Aerial shots show emergency crews at scene
Nineteen residents have been killed in a knife attack at a care centre for people with mental disabilities in the Japanese city of Sagamihara.
Such attacks are extremely rare in Japan - the incident is the worst mass killing in decades.
Police have arrested a man who worked at the centre until February, and who turned himself into police after the attack.
He reportedly said he wanted people with disabilities to "disappear".
The brutal killings have shocked Japan, one of the safest countries in the world.
Who was Japanese knife attacker?
"The lives of many innocent people were taken away and I am greatly shocked. We will make every effort to discover the facts and prevent a reoccurrence," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
Letter to politicians
The suspect has been named as 26-year-old Satoshi Uematsu.
He sent letters to politicians in February in which he threatened to kill hundreds of disabled people during a night shift, Kyodo news agency reports.
"My goal is a world in which the severely disabled can be euthanised, with their guardians' consent, if they are unable to live at home and be active in society," Uematsu wrote in a letter to the speaker of the lower house of parliament, obtained by Kyodo.
He was kept in hospital for almost two weeks before being released.
"You could say there were warning signs, but it's difficult to say if this could have been prevented," Kanagawa prefecture governor Yuji Koroiwa said.
Image copyright EPA Image caption The brutal killings have shocked Japan
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Kanagawa governor Yuji Koroiwa prays for victims of the attack
How the attack unfolded
Uematsu drove to the Tsukui Yamayuri-en care facility, located about 50km (31 miles) from Tokyo, in the early hours of the morning, armed with several knives.
He entered one of the buildings by breaking a window at 02:10 local time (17:10 GMT), a prefectural health official said, and began attacking sleeping residents one by one in their rooms.
Staff called police around 20 minutes later to report what was happening.
The stabbing rampage lasted around 40 minute across two buildings, the Associated Press news agency reports. Uematsu's 19 victims were aged between 19 and 70, Kyodo said, citing the Sagamihara City fire department.
Another 25 people were wounded, 20 seriously. Both men and women were reported to be among the dead.
Soon after the attack, Uematsu turned himself in at the Tsukui police station and reportedly admitted the attack, appearing to have driven himself there.
Pictures have emerged of the steering wheel of his car, stained with blood.
"When Uematsu turned himself in, he was found carrying kitchen knives and other types of knives stained with blood," a Kanagawa official told reporters.
Image copyright Press Eye Image caption Pictures showed the steering wheel of the attacker's car stained with blood
A neighbour described Uematsu as polite and pleasant.
"We didn't know the darkness of his heart," Akihiro Hasegawa, 73, told Reuters.
The facility, set in extensive grounds, had about 150 residents at the time of the attack, according to local officials. Nine staff members were on duty at the time.
One doctor told NHK: "The patients are very shocked and they cannot speak now."
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Police were called to the Tsukui Yamayuri Garden facility in Sagamihara
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Reporters gathered outside the home of the suspect, which is not far from the care home
One woman who said she used to work at Tsukui Yamayuri-en told local media: "They are truly innocent people. What did they do?"
Officials have ruled out any link to terrorism.
Mass killings are extremely rare in Japan, in part because strict gun control laws means almost no-one has access to a firearm.
8 June 2008 - a man drove a truck into a packed shopping district at Akihabara in Tokyo, before climbing out and randomly stabbing people. Seven people died.
8 June 2001 - man with a history of mental illness stabbed eight children to death at an Osaka primary school in 2001.
20 March 1995 - 13 people die and thousands are made ill when members of a doomsday cult release sarin gas in the Tokyo subway.
Are you in the Japanese city of Sagamihara? Have you been affected by this incident? You can share your experiences by emailing [email protected].
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Read our terms and conditions. ||||| A police officer talks with visitors in front of a facility for the handicapped where a number of people were killed and dozens injured in a knife attack Tuesday, July 26, 2016, in Sagamihara, outside... (Associated Press)
TOKYO (AP) — The Latest on Tuesday's knife attack at a Japanese facility for the mentally disabled that left 19 dead (all times local):
7 p.m.
Hearses have entered the premises of a Japanese facility for the mentally disabled where at least 19 people were killed in a knife attack.
One hearse came out after some time, but it was unclear whether it was carrying the body of a victim of Tuesday's attack.
The media have been waiting all day outside the facility in Sagamihara, a city 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Tokyo.
Three people appearing to be a family showed up to lay flowers, but they were unable to do so, as police prevented them from coming close to the property.
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2:25 p.m.
Kyodo news service has released a letter that Satoshi Uematsu, the suspect in the killing of 19 people at a facility for disabled people, allegedly was trying forward to Tadamori Oshima, the lower house speaker of Japan's parliament.
In it, Uematsu described detailed plans on how he planned to carry out such an attack during the night when there were few staff working. He wrote he would then turn himself in to the police.
Uematsu said that by killing the disabled he would stimulate the world economy and maybe even prevent a World War III.
"Now is the time to carry out a revolution and make an inevitable but tough decision for the sake of all mankind," Uematsu wrote.
12:45 p.m.
Japan's top government spokesman has called the knife attack that killed at least 19 people outside Tokyo "very tragic and shocking."
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters Tuesday that "this is a very tragic and shocking incident where many innocent people became victims. I sincerely pray for peace for the souls of those killed and extend condolences to the bereaved families as well as those wounded."
He said police together with government will work hard on the investigation "to grasp the whole picture."
Authorities have confirmed 19 deaths at a facility for the handicapped in the city of Sagamihara.
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11:45 a.m.
People living near a facility for the handicapped where 19 people were killed in a knife attack describe the facility as a friendly place whose staff and residents joined in community events.
Akie Inoue, walking with her teenage daughter, said her daughter knew the suspect from events at the facility when she was in elementary school.
"I was surprised to hear that the culprit was a person from this neighborhood," she said. "My daughter knew the culprit, I mean, they were acquainted. They would greet each other when they would meet and she tells me that he was a very kind person. We are all very shocked."
Her daughter, Honoka, said: "He had a cheerful impression. ... He was the kind of person that would greet you first."
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10:45 a.m.
A U.S. government statement issued by the White House expressed shock at the "heinous attack" and offered condolences to the families of those killed in the knife attack at a facility for the handicapped in Japan.
The statement by National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said "there is never any excuse for such violence, but the fact that this attack occurred at a facility for persons with disabilities makes it all the more repugnant and senseless."
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10:30 a.m.
Local government officials have identified the suspect in the knife attack as Satoshi Uematsu.
A Kanagawa prefecture official told a news conference that Uematsu entered the building about 2:10 a.m. by breaking a glass window on the first floor of a residential building at the facility for the handicapped.
Shinya Sakuma, head of prefectural health and welfare division, said Uematsu had worked at the facility until February. Japanese media reports said he is 26 years old.
The Sagamihara fire department has said 19 people were killed in the attack Tuesday morning.
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9:45 a.m.
The Sagamihara City fire department says that 19 people are confirmed dead in the attack on a facility for the disabled outside Tokyo.
The fire department said a doctor or doctors on the scene confirmed the deaths around 8 a.m. Tuesday morning. ||||| 20:25
The facility is home to 149 residents aged between 19 and 75. Kyodo news agency said 40 of them are older than 60.
Local residents and relatives of the people living in the facility rushed to the scene following news of the attack but are reportedly waiting for local officials to release the names of the dead and injured, local media said.
||||| Add a location to your Tweets
When you tweet with a location, Twitter stores that location. You can switch location on/off before each Tweet and always have the option to delete your location history. Learn more ||||| A man in his 20s stabbed at least 19 people to death at a facility for people with disabilities outside Tokyo. (The Washington Post)
A man in his 20s stabbed at least 19 people to death at a facility for people with disabilities outside Tokyo. (The Washington Post)
At 1:37 a.m. Tuesday, security cameras recorded a black car entering a parking lot, then a man getting out of the vehicle and moving toward a building.
That was the start.
The man, apparently using his first-hand knowledge of the buildings that form the Tsukui Yamayuri-en residential center for the disabled, took a hammer and smashed a first-floor window. He then climbed inside, tied up some, maybe all, of the eight caregivers on duty, stole a set of keys and began a bloody rampage.
In the worst mass killing in Japan in about 80 years, the 26-year-old local man identified as Satoshi Uematsu went through the locked rooms of the care facility, where he had worked until February, and stabbed 45 people in less than an hour.
By the time he was done, 10 men and nine women would be dead or dying, and 26 would be injured. Twenty of those would be in critical condition, some with deep stab wounds to their necks.
1 of 19 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × Fatal knife attack in Japan kills 19 View Photos The victims were stabbed at a facility for the disabled outside of Tokyo, according to Japanese media. Caption The victims were stabbed at a facility for the disabled outside of Tokyo, according to Japanese media. July 26, 2016 An ambulance moves in front of a facility for the handicapped where several people were killed in a knife attack in Sagamihara, outside Tokyo. Kyodo News/AP Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.
He attacked people who could not respond to his questions, he would later reportedly tell police.
An emergency call was made at 2:37 a.m. — “something horrible is happening here,” the caller said — but the CCTV footage showed the man returning to his car before first responders arrived.
At 2:50 a.m., a tweet was sent from a Twitter account that appeared to belong to Uematsu. “Wishing for world peace. beautiful Japan!!!!!!,” it said, showing a photo of a smiling young man with dyed blond hair — the attacker’s hair was blond — and wearing a suit and tie.
A little after, Uematsu drove his badly dented black Honda sedan to the local police station and walked inside, carrying a bag containing three knives, at least one of which was covered in blood, according to local reports citing authorities.
“I did it,” he told police. “It’s better that disabled people disappear.”
He was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and unlawful entry into a building.
[Why mass violence is so rare in Japan]
By the time dawn broke over the lush green fields in this valley, 35 miles west of Tokyo, the residents of Sagamihara were left pondering questions that have plagued residents of cities such as Orlando, Nice and Munich.
Why did he do this? How could this happen? And here?
“This kind of incident is never heard of in Japan,” said Teruaki Sugimoto, 66, who lives near the care home, which is named “mountain lily garden” after the local flower that is in bloom at this time of year. A Ferris wheel on the hill behind the care center continued to turn. The air was punctuated by birdsong and announcements over police loudspeakers.
There were no quick answers.
Japan is a country with very little violent crime. There was only one gun death in this country of 127 million last year, and that was linked to yakuza gangs.
There have been occasional mass attacks, such as a 2008 incident in which a man in a truck plowed into a crowd of shoppers and then stabbed bystanders, killingseven. And the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, which killed 12 people.
But Tuesday’s rampage killed more people, becoming the worst mass killing in postwar Japan. The shock was compounded by the fact that it occurred at a care center where patients, many of whom were aged or bedridden, were completely defenseless.
About 149 people with physical and learning disabilities live at the center, and at least 30 of them had lived there for more than three decades.
The survivors remained in the care home after the attack, even after police hung blue tarp in the windows to keep out prying eyes. Moving the people would have been more disruptive than keeping them there throughout the investigation, authorities said.
The care-facility residents are a part of this small community. “We had lots of dealings with the residents during sports events and festivals,” Sugimoto said on his front doorstep. Other locals described seeing people in wheelchairs being taken for walks, or groups of residents going around picking up litter.
“As a community, we have been watching over the facility for decades,” said a woman who lived on the same street as Uematsu and gave only her surname, Enomoto. “It’s very quiet and peaceful here, so it’s a huge shock that it happened here and by someone we know.”
But there had been warnings of this dark day.
In February, Uematsu delivered a letter to the speaker of Japan’s House of Representatives in which he threatened to carry out an attack at this facility and through these very methods.
“I will carry out a massacre without harming the staff,” Uematsu wrote in the letter, copies of which were broadcast by local media. “I can kill 470 disabled people. My goal is a world where people with multiple disabilities can be euthanized with their guardians’ consent if it’s difficult for them to live at home or take part in social activities.”
Uematsu wrote that “I will carry it out at night time, when there are fewer staff on duty,” adding that he would tie up the staff who were at work.
A few days later, Uematsu told his colleagues that there was no point in seriously disabled people living, so they should be euthanized.
The colleagues alerted police, triggering a chain of events in which Uematsu was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital, where he tested positive for marijuana use — a highly illegal substance in Japan — and was diagnosed as having drug-induced psychosis. Twelve days later, he was cleared for release, with doctors declaring that he no longer presented a threat.
Those decisions are facing new scrutiny. Five days after he delivered the letter, Uematsu stopped working at the care facility, but the details of his departure remain sketchy.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his government “will do everything to get to the bottom of the truth.”
“I send condolences from my bottom of my heart to the many people who died and those who were seriously injured,” Abe told a political meeting on Tuesday morning.
For now, the residents of Sagamihara are going through a mourning process that looks starkly different from those seen at the sites of other mass killings around the world. There are no seas of flowers in front of the care center or public outpourings of grief.
“It’s unthinkable that something like this could happen, not just in Japan but here in our community,” said Mitsuo Kishi, 76, who lives a few hundred yards from Uematsu’s house. He stood at his gate and watched a steady stream of reporters filing past, telling those who stopped about the boy who lived down the road and wanted to be a teacher like his father.
“I'm speechless. I don’t know what to say,” Kishi said. “I still can’t understand why it happened here.”
Yuki Oda contributed to this report.
Read more:
For some expats, U.S. gun violence makes Japan feel like a haven
Japan’s most salacious crime news — and the American who publishes it
Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world ||||| SAGAMIHARA, Japan (Reuters) - A knife-wielding man broke into a facility for the disabled in a small town near Tokyo early on Tuesday and killed 19 patients as they slept, authorities said, Japan’s worst mass killing since World War Two.
At least 25 other residents were wounded in the attack at the Tsukui Yamayuri-En facility for mentally and physically disabled in Sagamihara town, about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Tokyo.
“This is a very heart-wrenching and shocking incident in which many innocent people became victims,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a regular news conference in Tokyo.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later told a gathering in Tokyo: “The lives of many innocent people were taken away and I am greatly shocked. We will make every effort to discover the facts and prevent a reoccurance.”
The suspect was a 26-year-old former employee of the facility who gave himself up to police. The man, Satoshi Uematsu, said in letters he wrote in February that he could “obliterate 470 disabled people”, Kyodo news agency reported.
He said he would kill 260 severely disabled people at two areas in the facility during a night shift, and would not hurt employees.
“My goal is a world in which the severely disabled can be euthanized, with their guardians’ consent, if they are unable to live at home and be active in society,” Uematsu wrote in the two letters given to the speaker of the lower house of parliament, Kyodo reported.
Uematsu was committed to hospital after he expressed a “willingness to kill severely disabled people”, an official in Sagamihara told Reuters. He was freed on March 2 after a doctor deemed he had improved, the official said.
Uematsu lived near the facility, and a neighbor described him as a polite, young man who always greeted him with a smile.
“It would be easier to understand if there had been a warning but there were no signs,” said Akihiro Hasegawa, 73. “We didn’t know the darkness of his heart.”
The suspect apparently began changing about five months ago, said Yuji Kuroiwa, the governor of Kanagawa prefecture, where the facility is located.
“You could say there were warning signs, but it’s difficult to say if this could have been prevented,” he told reporters.
“This was not an impulsive crime ... He went in the dark of the night, opened one door at a time, and stabbed sleeping people one by one,” Kuroiwa said. “I just can’t believe the cruelty of this crime. We need to prevent this from ever happening again.”
Staff at the facility called police at 2.30 a.m. local time (1730 GMT Monday) with reports of a man armed with a knife on the grounds, media reports said. The man wore a black T-shirt and trousers, the reports said.
The 3-hectare (7.6 acre) facility was established by the local government. Surrounded by tree-covered mountains and on the banks of the Sagami River, it cares for people with a wide range of disabilities.
The facility’s website said the center had a maximum capacity of 160 people, including staff.
Satoshi Uematsu (C, with a jacket over his head), suspected of a deadly attack at a facility for the disabled, is escorted by police officers as he is taken from local jail to prosecutors, at Tsukui police station in Sagamihara, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan, July 27, 2016. REUTERS/Issei Kato
“IT MAKES YOU WEEP”
Japan has one of the lowest crime rates in the world and residents of Sagamihara said they were in shock. The last murder in the area was 10 years ago.
“This is a peaceful, quiet town so I never thought such an incident would happen here,” said Oshikazu Shimo, one of many residents of the town who gathered near the facility.
Taxi driver Susumu Fujimura said of the attacker: “He said ‘we should get rid of disabled people’ but he’s the worthless one.”
“That kind of person can’t defend themselves,” Fujimura said, referring to the victims. “That’s why so many died. It makes you weep to think of somebody just murdering them.”
The dead ranged in age from 19 to 70 and included nine males and 10 females, Kyodo said.
Police had recovered a bag with several knives, at least one stained with blood, a Kanagawa prefecture official said.
At least 29 emergency squads responded to the attack, Kyodo reported, with those wounded taken to at least six hospitals in the western Tokyo area.
Such mass killings are extremely rare in Japan and typically involve stabbings. Japan has strict gun laws and possession of firearms by the public is rare.
Slideshow (14 Images)
Eight children were stabbed to death at their school in Osaka by a former janitor in 2001. Seven people died in 2008 when a man drove a truck into a crowd and began stabbing people in Tokyo’s popular electronics and “anime” district of Akihabara.
A revision to Japan’s Swords and Firearms Control Law was introduced in 2009 in the wake of that attack, banning the possession of double-edged knives and further tightening gun-ownership rules.
Members of a doomsday cult killed 12 people and made thousands ill in 1995 in simultaneous attacks with sarin nerve gas on five Tokyo rush-hour subway trains.
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– Japan has been stunned and sickened by what the Guardian reports is the country's biggest mass killing since World War II: The murder of 19 people at a center for the disabled just outside Tokyo. Satoshi Uematsu, a 26-year-old former administrator at the Tsukui Yamayuri-En facility in Sagamihara, surrendered at a police station after the Tuesday morning rampage, in which victims with ages ranging from 19 to 70 were stabbed to death and another 26 people were injured, the BBC reports. The Kyodo news agency says Uematsu wrote to the speaker of Japan's House of Representatives in February, threatening to "obliterate 470 disabled people" during a night shift at the facility, which cared for people with a range of mental and physical disabilities, reports Reuters. "My goal is a world in which the severely disabled can be euthanized, with their guardians’ consent, if they are unable to live at home and be active in society," wrote Uematsu, who allegedly attacked his victims as they slept after he broke into the center at around 2:10am. Kyodo says that in the letter, Uematsu also claimed killing the disabled would help the world economy and prevent World War III, the AP notes. Authorities say Uematsu was committed to a mental hospital after sending the letter and telling colleagues that he wanted to harm disabled people, but was released on March 2 after doctors decided he had improved. The Washington Post reports that an hour before the attacks, Uematsu tweeted what is believed to be a photo of himself, with the message: "Wishing for world peace. beautiful Japan!!!!!!"
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On January 9, I was one of 300,000 West Virginians who learned their water had been contaminated by a chemical leak two miles upstream from the state’s largest drinking-water intake. Predictably, politicians and the public are clamoring for heads to roll—most notably those of managers at the Freedom Industries plant responsible for the leak.
Freedom Industries should be held accountable, but that won’t fix the problem. That’s because the Elk River spill wasn’t an isolated accident. It was the inevitable consequence of weak regulatory enforcement over many years, made possible by our collective failure to uphold the values we profess.
We all say we value clean water, so why do we accept pollution as the status quo, as a byproduct of everyday life? In public opinion polls, Americans routinely and overwhelmingly say that it’s the job of government to ensure clean water. And yet we continue to let elected officials off the hook when it comes to clean water laws.
In this light, the Elk River spill could be the future of many American cities. It’s one in which systems failures cause local catastrophic events—leaving taxpayers to foot the bill to clean up after polluters.
Since the earliest days of the chemical industry, it has been a major part of West Virginia’s economy. We live every day with the potential for toxic leaks into our waterways, knowing the consequences can be devastating. We shouldn’t have to live this way.
Since the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, industry has worked diligently to weaken the law’s enforcement and oversight.
As the director of an organization that advocates for clean water, I regularly witness the audacious influence of industry as it cajoles lawmakers and regulators to lower production costs by lowering the bar on public health. I review the same data as the politicians do on the risks to public health posed by weakening clean-water standards. But when it comes to environmental stewardship, data and facts are no match for industry’s sway over government.
And at times like these, I see the irony of politicians scapegoating a company whose pollution is enabled by government’s failure to adequately regulate. We’ve allowed them to foster a culture of neglect instead of one of oversight and accountability.
The Mountain State enjoys an abundance of water, but year after year we have seen access to clean water diminish. Our water has paid the price for our legacy of mining, gas drilling, coal-burning power plants, and chemical production. We have seen the steady chipping away of our water quality standards to help reduce costs to big coal. We have seen the injustices of people’s right to clean water usurped by industries. Indeed, there are parts of West Virginia that will never have access to clean water, where industrial pollution has caused irreparable harm to water supplies.
I hope the West Virginia water crisis reminds us about how dependent we are on clean rivers for our health and security. Now is the time to take a critical look at how to better protect our water sources. We can do this only by acknowledging that the Elk River spill is not a story about an isolated leak. This is about the need for systemic changes in industrial practices and our national responsibility to establish and enforce adequate protections.
We need to look at ourselves and remember our values. We need to be true to our relationship with water by expanding our expectations of elected leaders. And industries and consumers need to accept the costs of safer, more environmentally-sound production of certain goods and services. That’s the price of clean water.
Clean water is essential for life. It is also essential for our national and global security. I hope that once the immediate crisis is over, serious thought will go into meaningful reforms and investment in protecting our rivers and streams that are our lifeline.
Angie Rosser is executive director of the West Virginia Rivers Coalition in Charleston, W.Va., a statewide nonprofit organization focused on water quality issues. She lives on the Elk River upstream from the spill. In 2013 she was part of a successful effort to secure endangered species status for the Elk River Diamond Darter, a fish found only in the Elk River in West Virginia. Copyright Blue Ridge Press 2014.
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Epoch Times. ||||| CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The ban on tap water for parts of West Virginia was lifted on Monday, ending a crisis for a fraction of the 300,000 people who were told not to drink, wash or cook with water after a chemical spill tainted the water supply.
Gov. Earl Tomblin made the announcement at a news conference, five days after people were told to use the water only to flush their toilets.
"The numbers we have today look good and we are finally at a point where the 'do not use' order has been lifted," he said.
Officials were lifting the ban in a strict, methodical manner to help ensure the water system was not overwhelmed by excessive demand, which could cause more water quality and service problems. Customers were asked to flush out their systems before using the water again.
Officials cautioned the water could still have a licorice-type odor, but they said it was safe.
"It's not going to bother me as long as we know it's clean," said Peter Triplett, a state library commission worker who was in the first area allowed to use water. "It's been rough going."
About 6,000 to 10,000 customers were cleared to use the water again Monday, and it could be days before the entire water system was cleared, West Virginia American Water President Jeff McIntyre said.
The first area cleared was downtown Charleston, the state capital and its largest city. Restaurants, day-care centers and schools there have closed during the emergency.
Schools Superintendent James Phares said he hoped the largest two school systems could reopen Tuesday, but cautioned: "We're not going to be rushing them back to school if it's not safe."
The water crisis started Thursday when a chemical used in coal processing leaked from a Freedom Industries plant into the nearby Elk River.
Complaints came in to West Virginia American Water about the odor. The source was the chemical 4-methylcyclohexane methanol that spilled out of a 40,000 gallon tank.
State officials believe about 7,500 gallons leaked from the tank. Some of the chemical was contained before flowing into the river and it's not clear exactly how much entered the water supply.
Federal authorities, including the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, opened an investigation into the spill.
Over the past few days, tests have showed that levels were consistently below a toxic threshold, and in some samples, there was no trace of the chemical at all. Officials were also keeping a close eye on water downstream to make sure there was no further impact. No fish kills or other impact on aquatic life, wildlife or pets were reported.
Water distribution centers have handed out bottled water and trucks with large tanks of water have filled up containers for people to take home.
Some people put plastic bags around faucets so that they were reminded not to use the water. Others have left town to take a shower and find an open restaurant.
Only 14 people exposed to the contaminated water were admitted to the hospital, and none were in serious condition.
The chemical, even in its most concentrated form, isn't deadly. However, people were told they shouldn't even wash their clothes in affected water, as the compound can cause symptoms ranging from skin irritation and rashes to vomiting and diarrhea.
Lawmakers were to return to the Capitol on Monday after Friday's session was cut short because there wasn't any water. Their work now will likely include a look at how Freedom Industries flew under the regulatory radar.
Freedom Industries' tanks don't fall under an inspection program and the chemicals stored at the facility weren't considered hazardous enough to require environmental permitting, but there's already talk about changing that, Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Randy Huffman said. One idea is to require tanks to be a certain distance from the river, he said.
Company president Gary Southern held a brief news conference Friday night, but otherwise company officials have declined to comment.
"We have mitigated the risk, we believe, in terms of further material leaving this facility," he said then.
The coal and chemical industries are major forces in the state's economy, providing thousands of jobs, but they also pose risks of spills and mine disasters. West Virginia is the second-largest coal producing state, behind Wyoming, and the state has about 150 chemical companies. The area where the spill happened is known as Chemical Valley.
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Associated Press writers Pam Ramsey, Brendan Farrington and Mitch Weiss in Charleston, W.Va., contributed to this report.
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– The West Virginia water crisis is almost over. Gov. Earl Tomblin today lifted the ban on tap water for some parts of the state, saying that officials wanted to bring the system back on slowly to avoid a flood of excessive demand. But environmental activist Angie Rosser at the Epoch Times isn't ready to put the incident behind her. She's one of the people who've been without running water for the past five days, and she thinks it "wasn't an isolated incident." "The Elk River spill could be the future of many American cities," she writes, because the kind of regulatory failings that caused it occur all over. Politicians are eager to scapegoat Freedom Industries, but that's hypocritical given the "audacious influence" she's seen the chemical industry exert on politicians, overcoming solid data about public health risks. Hopefully, this crisis is a wake-up call. "We all say we value clean water," she reasons, "so why do we accept pollution as the status quo?" Click for Rosser's full column.
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Marcel Gleffe was the first to race to the idyllic island of Utoeya, where more than 500 young people were attending a summer camp organised by AUF, the youth wing of the ruling Labour Party, as gunman Anders Behring Breivik opened fire.
Mr Gleffe, who was staying on a holiday campsite on the mainland, raced to his boat and took to the water immediately after hearing the shots and seeing plumes of smoke on the horizon.
As the names of some of the young victims began to emerge, he told how he had bravely rescued scores of teenagers who fled for their lives as Breivik's bullets rained down.
"I just did it on instinct," he said. "You don't get scared in a situation like that, you just do what it takes. I know the difference between fireworks and gunfire. I knew what it was about, and that it wasn't just nonsense.
"Cooperation with the police and rescue crews afterwards was very good, but it all came too late. The first time I was out I was all alone."
Mr Gleffe and his family were drinking coffee outside their caravan and discussing the Oslo bombing when they began to hear shots from Utoeya between 5pm and 6pm on Friday.
"I recognised the sound of the automatic weapon straight away," he said.
"Then I saw two youths who swam away from the island. Then smoke grenades came and several bursts from the automatic weapon. I saw through the binoculars that there were more people in the water."
Mr Gleffe, who lives in Ski, south of Oslo, took the keys to his boat and raced down to the water.
He threw life jackets out to the young people as they shouted: "Are you police, are you police?". Some told him that the gunman was a police officer as others yelled "terrorist, terrorist, terrorist!".
He plucked as many as he could from the water, steering the boat close to the shore of the island and using his binoculars to search for the gunman.
"I took between four and five trips. After that the police asked me to stop," he told the local Dagbladet newspaper.
"The youths were good. They supported each other and were organised, and said who needed first aid and who had to be taken into the boat first. 'You must take him, you must take him', they said."
"They were happy to get help, but they were unsure whom they could trust."
Among those who lost their lives during Breivik's rampage was Tore Eikeland, 21, president of the Hordaland branch of the AUF, whom Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg described as "one of our most talented youth politicians".
"Now he is dead. Gone forever. It is incomprehensible," he told mourners at a special memorial service at Oslo's cathedral.
Erik Dale, a friend and colleague in Norwegian youth politics wrote online: "It is much too soon for you to go, Tore. A great friend with a great heart. A heart that beats for everyone.
"And a political talent we all envy you. Norway's next Prime Minister, remember? It is too soon to lose you. We miss you."
Mr Dale also wrote about another friend, Tarald Mjelde, 18, who was missing presumed dead last night.
"We still need you, Tarald.," he said. "The little big boy with an enthusiasm that infects everyone around you. All the people who wish they had your energy. Your eagerness. If you hadn't been such a great little politician, I am sure you could have been an athlete.
"You love your football, even if you support the wrong team. How did you end up with Chelsea anyways? Please come home safe so you can tell me. We need you."
As the death toll from the island climbed to 86, the names of the missing began to filter out. AMong them was Simon Saeboe, 19, who posed with the Prime Minister in 2009.
Hanne Kristine Fridtun, 20, was last heard from at 6pm on Friday as she swam out into the water with several others.
"We are twenty people hiding at the water's edge. We are talking quietly so we are not heard," she told NRK, the state broadcaster on the phone.
Torjus Blattmann, 17, Syvert Knudsen, 17, Marianne Sandvik, 16 and Jamil Rafal Yasin, 20, were also all still missing.
Friends posted heartfelt messages on Facebook and more than one million joined a tribute page illustrated by a single candle.
One wrote on Simon Saeboe's page: "This is so unfair and unreal you will always be remembered and never be forgotten" while another added: "I am so glad I had a chance to know you." ||||| By Anna Reimann and Gerald Traufetter in Utvika, Norway
Marcel Gleffe and his family had been hoping for a week of relaxation at a Norwegian campground. But when gunfire started on an island across the water, he and several others jumped into their boats and began rescuing distraught teenagers swimming for their lives. "It goes without saying," he says.
The man who had suddenly become a hero pours himself a beer and lights a cigarette. He only managed one or two hours of sleep the night before and he looks tired. It is the day after the massacre at the Norwegian youth camp on Utøya Island. The suspected perpetrator, Anders Behring B. cold-bloodedly shot down 85 people on the previous day -- but dozens were able to flee by jumping into the water and swimming towards the mainland.
It is 24 hours since Marcel Gleffe became a key figure in pulling many of these young camp goers out of the water. Thirty-two years old, Gleffe is a roofer from Germany who has worked in Norway for the past two-and-a-half years. Currently, he is vacationing at a campground in Utvika together with his parents Walter and Heidrun. The campground is directly across from the island where the massacre took place.
He takes a deep drag on his cigarette and begins to tell his story. It was a chilly late afternoon on Friday and the Gleffe family had just sat down for coffee at the table in front of their RV. They were talking about the attack that had just taken place in Oslo, about the bomb and the several people it had killed. A neighbor at the campground had told them of the shocking attack.
Suddenly, they heard a hollow bang. First just one or two, "but then it was an entire salvo," says Heidrun, 53. They saw dark smoke rise up from the island. "I said to my husband, 'come on, lets go down to the jetty, we have to see what happened." Maybe it was some fireworks, they thought, or some sort of exercise.
Bobbing in the Water
The jetty is just 200 meters from where their RV was parked. Several boats are tied up there and the island is just 600 meters across the water. It's easy to see the rocks on the island's shore and the ferry bobbing in the water.
When they arrived at the jetty, the Gleffes could see a man fishing a girl out of the water, she must have been 16 or 17 years old, and she was clad only in her underwear. Immediately behind her was another girl, screaming as she swam. "She was yelling 'help, help,' she screamed 'shooting!' and that we should call the police, Heidrun says.
It was the moment when the Gleffes realized that something terrible must have happened on the island. "We saw several heads bobbing in the water," Heidrun says.
The heads they saw were several teenagers who had jumped into the water in an attempt to escape. By the time the Gleffes saw them, dozens had likely already been killed by the gunman rampaging across Utøya.
The family immediately jumped into action, as if by remote control, not wanting to lose a second. Heidrun wrapped the girl who had reached the shore into a blanket and brought her to their RV. She was freezing and in shock.
Helping Each Other
"In such a situation, you don't think at all," her son Marcel says. He took off and grabbed the key for the small red boat that they had rented for the week and quickly got the motor running. "I immediately suspected that there was a connection to the attack in Oslo," he says.
The teenagers who were swimming in the water called out: "Don't come closer! Don't come closer."
But Marcel did. "I just acted," he says. He saw more and more people jumping into the water from the rocks on the shore and looked through a telescope at the island. Suddenly, he saw the attacker, squatting on a rock with his weapon raised. Eyewitnesses later said that he also shot at those who had already managed to jump into the water.
"There were people swimming everywhere in the water," Marcel says. "I threw them lifejackets and pulled those into the boat who were having the most trouble. Everyone was screaming, but they were also helping each other." They screamed, they cried, but they also hugged each other for courage. "It was unbelievable to see how strong they were," Marcel says.
The 32-year-old took his boat out into the water again and again, collecting more people and bringing them back to the jetty. There, additional helpers were waiting, and several other campers with their boats were also pulling teenagers out of the water. Marcel guesses that he alone was able to bring about 20 of them to the shore, he doesn't know exactly how many anymore.
'Goes Without Saying'
Some of the teenagers seemed not to want to be saved by the campers from the other shore. They screamed "don't come too close" or "do you want to kill us?" The reason only came to light the next day. "The attacker was so cynical that he called out to the young people and promised that he would save them," a Norwegian man, who had likewise pulled people out of the water, says.
Psychologists who arrived at the campground after the massacre ended expressed amazement at how well organized the campers were. When the shooting started, many of them put their small children in their cars so that they wouldn't realize what was going on. One man drove many of the freezing teenagers to the campground office to warm up.
In total, the campers at Utvika managed to pull 150 people out of the water. "Still, many of them feel guilty," says psychiatrist Kirsti Oscarson. "They think only of the people they had to leave behind because they didn't fit in the boat and not about the ones whose lives they saved." Her job now is to reassure them that their thoughts in such a situation are completely normal, Oscarson says.
Psychologists are now providing assistance for those in need at the camping ground. They say that about a third of them are likely going to have difficulties processing their experiences.
Marcel Gleffe says that "yesterday, I was okay. But today I feel terrible, just terrible." But, he adds, he couldn't have done anything but help. "What we did simply goes without saying."
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– German Marcel Gleffe and his family were relaxing Friday afternoon at a campground along the shores of Norway's Lake Tyrifjorden, talking about the bombing in Oslo, when he heard shots ring out—first one or two, then "an entire salvo." He ran to the jetty and saw a girl swimming, calling for help and yelling that there was a shooting happening at Utoya Island, about 600 meters away. So Marcel grabbed the keys to his rental boat and took off to help all the people he could, reports Der Spiegel. "In such a situation, you don't think at all," he says. Marcel took the boat out four or five times, throwing lifejackets to as many people as he could, fishing out those who needed the most help. Many were wary, screaming "don't come too close" or "do you want to kill us?" He says he managed to bring about 20 to shore (the Telegraph reports he saved up to 30). All told, the various campers at the site pulled about 150 people from the water. But despite helping so many, for campers like Gleffe, the trauma lingers. "Yesterday, I was okay. But today I feel terrible, just terrible," he said.
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Goldsboro home (WSOC.com photo)
Goldsboro home (WSOC.com photo)
GOLDSBORO, Wayne County - A North Carolina brother and sister are being treated for serious burns after they trying to roast marshmallows indoors in Goldsboro, authorities said.
The 8- and 12-year-olds were using rubbing alcohol to light a flame, but the chemical caused the fire to spread quickly.
CLICK HERE to read more from ABC affiliate WSOC
Their mother used a water bottle to douse her daughter.
Her son had already run outside, where neighbors stepped in to help.
Another sibling said they have all learned a lesson.
“I made a promise to myself that I was never going to mess with lighters or fire again because I learned my lesson,” the sibling said.
Family members said the children suffered burns to their faces and bodies.
There is no word on their current conditions. ||||| The children thought the fire had died down, but within seconds, two of them were consumed in flames. (Source: WRAL/CNN)
GOLDSBORO, NC (WRAL/CNN) – A brother and sister are severely burned after attempting to roast marshmallows with rubbing alcohol.
Montrael Williams says he and his siblings wanted to roast marshmallows on the cold Saturday afternoon, but the experience quickly got out of hand.
The children used a lighter, a pan and rubbing alcohol to heat the marshmallows. One of them thought the flame had died down, but within seconds, the 8-year-old and 12-year-old were consumed in flames.
"The bottle went flying the other way and then the juice or the alcohol went flying toward my brother and sister, and they caught on fire. I didn't catch on fire because I was at the corner of the table,” Montrael said.
The children’s mother Lashandra Moore saw her daughter was on fire and ran to help her but didn’t realize her son was outside, also on fire.
Thankfully, a neighbor saw the boy and stopped to help, but his injuries were already severe.
"Jaylen's eyes got burned so bad they were blue. They were blue and gray, and he couldn't see,” Moore said.
Still, the mother is relieved her children are alive.
Montrael says he’s learned a hard and scary lesson from the incident.
"My dad, he was talking to me in the family room about how I shouldn't have been messing with fire. When we were walking out of the hospital getting ready to come back here, I made a promise to myself that I was never going to mess with lighters or fire again because I learned my lesson,” he said.
Copyright 2017 WRAL via CNN. All rights reserved. ||||| Two North Carolina children were airlifted to a local hospital after an attempt at roasting marshmallows left them with severe burns, PEOPLE confirms.
The brother and sister used a lighter, a pan and rubbing alcohol to heat the marshmallows on Saturday in their Goldsboro home, but things soon got out of hand when the flame grew and consumed the kids, WBRC reports.
“The bottle went flying the other way and then the juice, or the alcohol went flying toward my brother and sister and they caught on fire,” Montrael Williams said of his siblings. “I didn’t catch on fire because I was at the corner of the table.”
The children were airlifted to the Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Health Care in Chapel Hill, a Goldsboro Fire Department spokesman tells PEOPLE.
The incident is under investigation, a Goldsboro Police Department spokeswoman tells PEOPLE. The spokeswoman says that the three children were in the kitchen trying to roast marshmallows and “something got in the way” of the flame, causing “the fire to get out of hand.”
8-Year-Old Girl Saves Two Brothers from Devastating Fire That Killed Six Other Siblings
The kids’ mother, Lashandra Moore, said spoke through tears as she spoke of helping her daughter.
“When I turned and looked I just saw my daughter, she was on fire,” Moore told KTRK. Meanwhile, her son had made his way outside where a neighbor was helping the burned boy.
“Jaylen’s eyes were burned so badly, they were blue and gray. And he couldn’t see,” Moore said.
Authorities gave few details about the incident, with the spokeswoman noting only that the injured children are 8 and 12 years old.
The children remained in the hospital on Monday, the spokeswoman says. And family members are waiting for updates on the children’s recovery.
Now, Williams said he’s learned his lesson as a result of the incident.
“I made a promise to myself that I was never going to mess with lighters or fire again,” he told KTRK.
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– A North Carolina brother and sister, 8 and 12, wanted to roast marshmallows over the weekend but instead ended up in the hospital with severe burns. The children, along with one other sibling, tried to use a lighter, pan, and rubbing alcohol to heat the marshmallows when things went very wrong. "The bottle went flying the other way and then the juice or the alcohol went flying toward my brother and sister, and they caught on fire," the uninjured sibling, who was standing farther away, tells WBRC. A Goldsboro Police Department spokesperson tells People that "something got in the way" of the flame and caused "the fire to get out of hand." The kids' mom, Lashandra Moore, ran to help when she saw her daughter on fire; her son was also on fire outside, and a neighbor saw him and helped. Both were airlifted to a local hospital, and were still hospitalized as of Monday with burns to their faces and bodies, per WSOC. WRAL explains that rubbing alcohol burns clear, so the children may not have realized there was a flame.
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Story highlights Obama accepts VA secretary's resignation, says Shinseki doesn't want to be a distraction
Shinseki says his commitment to veterans drove his decision to resign
The move comes after months of reports about problems with the VA medical system
Eric Shinseki resigned Friday as the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs, leaving behind the daunting task of repairing a broken health care system that has left thousands of veterans at risk as they wait for medical care.
Shinseki's resignation concluded a firestorm of criticism and growing calls for him to step down following revelations of sometimes deadly delays for veterans waiting for care at VA hospitals, allegations exposed by CNN in a series of exclusive reports.
Details of the delays were first exposed by CNN last November in an investigation into two VA hospitals in the Southeast. Since then, CNN's reporting has expanded to include numerous other VA hospitals, culminating with details about secret waiting lists at the Phoenix VA that may have played a role in the deaths of 40 veterans.
President Barack Obama went before reporters at the White House minutes after meeting with Shinseki, saying the retired Army general told him "the VA needs new leadership" to address widespread issues that were chronicled in new reports this week. Obama said Shinseki "does not want to be a distraction."
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"That was Ric's judgment on behalf of his fellow veterans, and I agree. We don't have time for distractions. We need to fix the problem," Obama said.
Calls for Shinseki's resignation snowballed in recent days from across the political spectrum -- Republicans and Democrats, as well as veterans' advocacy groups -- because of the misconduct .
In a farewell message to VA employees, Shinseki didn't address the scandal specifically but did say he resigned with veterans' interests in mind.
"My personal and professional commitment and my loyalty to veterans, their families and our survivors was the driving force behind that decision," he said. "That loyalty has never wavered, and it will never wane."
Shinseki says 'situation can be fixed,' but not by him
Earlier Friday, Shinseki announced steps to address the VA shortcomings, including removing senior leaders in the Phoenix VA medical system , eliminating performance awards for VA leaders in 2014 and wait times as a metric for evaluations and accelerating care to veterans.
He also apologized to veterans and Congress, but declared: "This situation can be fixed."
But Shinseki won't be part of the solution.
He went to the White House to present Obama with findings from his internal audit of what was happening in the VA system, including that many audited facilities had "questionable scheduling practices" that signaled a "systemic lack of integrity."
The President acknowledged that scheduling issues didn't rise to the attention of Shinseki, whom he praised as a man who "has served his country with honor for nearly 50 years."
At the same time, Obama said that he and Shinseki agreed that a shift in leadership was necessary.
For now, Sloan Gibson -- a Shinseki deputy -- will head the VA until a new secretary is named and confirmed.
"Part of that is going to be technology. Part of that is management," the President said. "But as Ric Shinseki himself indicated, there is a need for a change in culture within the VHA, and perhaps the VHA as a whole -- or the VA as a whole that makes sure that bad news gets surfaced quickly so that things can be fixed."
Breaking open the scandal
Problems in the VA system date back decades, but CNN's reporting of long waits at VA hospitals brought the issue into national focus at the end of 2013.
An April report by CNN in which sources said 40 veterans died at a Phoenix VA facility that used secret waiting lists to cover up the problem prompted angry calls for action.
The VA has acknowledged 23 deaths nationwide due to delayed care.
CNN also obtained an e-mail written by an employee at a Wyoming VA clinic that said staff was instructed to "game the system" to make the clinic appear more efficient.
A preliminary inspector general's report made public Wednesday described a "systemic" practice of manipulating appointments and wait lists at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Phoenix.
According to the report, at least 1,700 military veterans waiting to see a doctor were never scheduled for an appointment or were placed on a waiting list at the Phoenix VA, raising the question of just how many more may have been "forgotten or lost" in the system.
In a recent USA Today opinion piece, Shinseki ordered VA officials to contact each of these veterans "in order to bring the care they need and deserve."
The latest report by the VA inspector general's office and Shinseki's auditors indicated a link between employee bonuses and covering up patient wait times.
There also have been calls for a criminal investigation into fraudulent record-keeping to cover up delays at VA hospitals. Obama said Friday that would be up to the Justice Department, which has been collecting information but has not launched any investigation.
Shortly before he resigned, Shinseki told a veterans group that he was shocked by the inspector general's report, especially the prevalence of wait lists for veterans needing medical care.
"That breach of integrity is irresponsible, it is indefensible and unacceptable to me," he told the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans just before heading over to his final meeting with Obama.
"I said when this situation began weeks to months ago and I thought the problem was limited and isolated because I believed that. I no longer believe that. It is systemic," he said.
At the same time, the VA chief of more than five years said that others had misled him.
"I was too trusting of some, and I accepted as accurate reports that I now know to have been misleading with regard to patient wait times," he said. "I can't explain the lack of integrity among some of the leaders of our health care facilities. This is something I rarely encountered during 38 years in uniform and so I will not defend it because it's indefensible, but I can take responsibility for it and I do."
Whistleblower: VA was 'way too focused on ... good numbers'
As the accusations mounted -- including the latest one in which Reps. Mike Doyle and Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania claimed 700 veterans had been placed on a primary care waiting list for doctor appointments at the Pittsburgh VA center, with some waiting since 2012 -- so too did the pressure on Shinseki.
Politicians largely applauded Shinseki's resignation on Friday, even as they said that the VA needed to do more than put new people in his place to resolve its shortcomings.
"The denial of care to our veterans is a national disgrace, and it's fitting that the person who oversees the Department of Veterans Affairs has accepted responsibility for this growing scandal and resigned," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a VA whistleblower who told CNN about the problems at the Phoenix facility said Friday he was saddened by Shinseki's resignation under such circumstances.
"The VA administrators got way too focused on having good numbers and they forgot the most important mandate, the reason we all work at the VA -- to take care of veterans, to save their lives and give them good medical care," Dr. Sam Foote said.
"The next secretary's biggest challenge will be to get that refocused and make sure the number one job is taking care of veterans - not worrying about their bureaucratic careers," Foote added. ||||| WASHINGTON — Eric Shinseki resigned as secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs on Friday, leaving behind a sprawling bureaucracy embroiled in scandal and burdened with a decades-old legacy of overwhelmed facilities and management failures that his successor must now confront.
President Obama announced Mr. Shinseki’s departure after a 45-minute Oval Office meeting between the two men that ended a week of mounting demands from both parties for the secretary to step down. Mr. Obama, who appeared pained at the turn of events, hailed Mr. Shinseki as having an unquestioned commitment to the nation’s veterans, but he said the political storm had made Mr. Shinseki’s continuing leadership untenable.
“We don’t have time for distractions,” Mr. Obama said. “We need to fix the problem.”
Fixing the problem at the department now becomes an urgent political matter for the president, once again raising questions about whether the candidate who pledged in 2008 and 2012 to make government work efficiently has lost grasp of the government he now leads.
The department’s troubles, however, remain a far more serious concern for the millions of veterans whose access to timely health care has been steadily eroding as waves of wounded soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan have converged with those who returned from earlier wars.
Most of the veterans now seeking treatment at department facilities are aging Vietnam-era service members, many with chronic illnesses like diabetes that require long-term care or with cancer and cardiovascular disease that require complicated and expensive treatment. Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are further straining the system with mental health problems like post-traumatic stress disorder.
Veterans’ demand for medical services is soaring. The number of outpatient visits to V.A. health care facilities has grown by 26 percent over the last five years, to 94.6 million in the current fiscal year, according to the department. Over the same period, the number of staff doctors and nurses has grown by 18 percent.
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The effort to resolve the fundamental problems at the department will also play out in Congress, where Republicans say the problem is not a lack of money — the department’s $154 billion annual budget has more than doubled since 2006 — but rather inefficiencies in the delivery of care. Democrats say that the problem is a serious shortage of doctors and not enough hospitals.
“This is going to be a slow grind,” a senior administration official said of the need to overhaul the department. “A lot of the problems, they are not just systemic, but they are chronic. It’s like, roll up your sleeves, start digging into the culture and get rid of people who are impeding necessary change.”
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“It won’t be pretty,” said the official, who asked for anonymity to be blunt about the challenge facing Mr. Obama in the months ahead.
One immediate question is whether the departure of Mr. Shinseki will have any real impact on the agency’s deep-seated problems. Mr. Shinseki apologized in a speech on Friday morning, before Mr. Obama accepted his resignation, saying that he was “too trusting” of some people working for him. He criticized a “systemic, totally unacceptable lack of integrity” at some veterans health care centers that he said he could not explain.
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Defenders of Mr. Shinseki point out that problems at the Veterans Affairs Department, the country’s largest health care system, were far worse during the Vietnam era. Despite the current problems, many veterans say that the quality of care delivered — once they are able to get into the system — is much better today.
In addition, the veterans agency has a history of innovation in its health care programs, including advances in the treatment of spinal cord injuries, improvements in artificial limbs, increased use of electronic health records and the investigation of medical errors.
But the problems described Friday in an internal audit are remarkably similar to those documented six years ago in a report to the department by Booz Allen Hamilton, the management consulting company. The Booz Allen report found “chronic delays in care” at veterans hospitals and clinics, resulting in part from “the current shortage of nurses, nurse practitioners, primary care providers and specialty physicians.”
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Mr. Shinseki had already been challenged by some of those problems during his five years at the department’s helm. A year ago, he and Mr. Obama had what aides described as a “come to Jesus” meeting in which the president demanded that Mr. Shinseki deal with a huge backlog of disability claims that were delaying benefits to veterans.
But the recent allegations that officials manipulated waiting lists for thousands of veterans across the country exposed even bigger issues. The department’s internal audit, which Mr. Shinseki presented to the president on Friday, attributed the scheduling scandal to the agency’s “overarching environment and culture which allowed this state of practice to take root.”
The audit said that the department’s culture “must be confronted head-on if it is to evolve to be more capable of adjusting systems, leadership and resources to meet the needs of veterans and families.”
The audit was unsparing in its documentation of the extent of problems. It found, for example, that at least one instance of reporting false patient wait-time data had occurred in nearly two-thirds of the department’s facilities. “Such practices are sufficiently pervasive to require V.A. to re-examine its entire performance management system,” the audit said.
The seeds of Mr. Shinseki’s departure may have been planted years ago, when he established standards that his supporters said were admirable but unrealistically high. He set 125 days as the goal for processing disability claims and was then blamed for the backlog that ensued. For new patients, he required that veterans be seen within two weeks.
In the audit, that 14-day standard was singled out as an “organizational leadership failure” and a major problem in providing timely care, second only to a shortage of doctors.
In announcing Mr. Shinseki’s departure, Mr. Obama said a number of department officials, including in Phoenix, the medical center that spawned the current scandal, would be fired. He also said that bonuses would not be paid to senior V.A. health care executives.
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Now, the challenge for Mr. Obama will be finding someone who has the ability not just to lead a department with nearly 300,000 employees, but also steer it in a new direction. Mr. Obama said Friday that Sloan Gibson, Mr. Shinseki’s deputy and the president’s choice to be the acting secretary, will not lead the department over the long run.
“There is a need for a change in culture within the V.H.A.,” Mr. Obama said, referring to the Veterans Health Administration, “and perhaps the V.A. as a whole that makes sure that bad news gets surfaced quickly so that things can be fixed.”
Among the names mentioned as Mr. Shinseki’s possible successors by lawmakers and officials at veterans organizations are Dr. Kenneth W. Kizer, who was under secretary of Veterans Affairs from 1994 to 1999; Representative Tammy Duckworth, Democrat of Illinois, a veteran who served as assistant secretary at the department; Senator Jon Tester, Democrat of Montana; and Jim Webb, a veteran who was a Democratic senator from Virginia and a secretary of the Navy.
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The president may also face a difficult time getting Congress to agree on legislation and financing to make the necessary changes. Democratic and Republican lawmakers have demonstrated vastly different visions for reforming the department.
Speaker John A. Boehner said Friday that “until the president outlines a vision and an effective plan for addressing the broad dysfunction at the V.A., today’s announcement really changes nothing.”
Republicans like Representative Jeff Miller of Florida, who is chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, blamed how the department’s resources were divvied up for much of its problems. “The middle-management administrative functions have grown exponentially over the last few years,” Mr. Miller said.
Senator Bernard Sanders, a Vermont independent and chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said that although more accountability was needed, lack of resources was a major problem.
“I suspect very strongly there are parts of the country that we simply do not have the number of doctors and nurses we need, and those will cost money,” he said.
Part of the department’s problems stems from sheer size: Not only is it the nation’s largest health care system — with nine million enrolled veterans served at 150 medical centers and 800 outpatient clinics — it is among the largest workers’ compensation systems, charged with disbursing annual disability payments to nearly four million veterans.
In addition, many of the more recent patients are seeking treatment for profound injuries that would not have been survivable in earlier wars but are today, in part because of mandatory body armor and improvements in front-line medical care.
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– Eric Shinseki is out as leader of the VA. President Obama today said he accepted the Cabinet secretary's resignation "with regret" in the wake of the scandal over shoddy medical care for the nation's veterans, reports CNN. Obama said Shinseki told him he didn't want to be a distraction as the department begins its reforms. Earlier today, Shinseki himself apologized for the VA's "systemic" problems and announced that he was firing the top officials at the hospital in Phoenix, perhaps the worst offender. "He has worked hard to investigate and identify the problem," Obama said of Shinseki, who faced a drumbeat of calls for his resignation from lawmakers in both parties. The president called the four-star general a "good man," but said Shinseki "felt like new leadership would serve our veterans best, and I agree with him." The New York Times observes that Shinseki seemed intent on staying on, "but his contrition and promises of action came too late to save his job."
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Vice President Biden said Thursday he sees an emerging consensus around “universal background checks” for all gun buyers and a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines as he completes the Obama administration’s broad study of ways to curb the nation’s gun violence.
But the National Rifle Association, a participant in an afternoon meeting with Biden, strongly rejected what it called “an agenda to attack the Second Amendment” and indicated it would have nothing more to do with the vice president’s task force on gun laws.
The consensus Biden described is among gun-control advocates and law enforcement officials with whom he has been meeting for the past week. The gun industry has long opposed such restrictions, including background checks on private sales of firearms.
Biden, who said he would present his working group’s policy recommendations to President Obama by Tuesday, suggested that universal background checks and a high-capacity magazine ban would be part of the administration’s agenda.
Biden made the remarks as he opened a meeting with hunters and sportsmen, one of a series Thursday that also included a gathering with gun owners’ groups, notably the NRA.
View Graphic Majority sees Connecticut shooting as societal problem
Biden was tasked by Obama with leading an interagency working group on gun violence in the wake of last month’s elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., that killed 20 small children and six educators.
Biden said that, going into Thursday’s meetings, the group has heard repeatedly about the need to strengthen background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill. He said proposals would go beyond closing a loophole that exempts some private firearms sales, such as at gun shows, from background checks.
“There is an emerging set of recommendations — not coming from me but coming from the groups we’ve met,” Biden said. “There is a surprising, so far, a surprising recurrence of suggestions that we have universal background checks.”
These recommendations were not only about “closing the gun show loophole,” he said, “but total universal background checks, including private sales.” He said the focus would be on how to “strengthen those background checks.”
Biden also mentioned strengthening the ability of federal agencies to conduct research about gun violence. He drew a comparison between current limits on federal gathering of data about gun violence and 1970s-era restrictions on federal research into the causes of traffic fatalities. Biden stressed a need for the government to collect information about “what kind of weapons are used most to kill people” and “what kind of weapons are trafficked weapons.”
Biden’s comments came an hour before he was scheduled to meet with a senior representative of the NRA, the powerful gun rights group that has long opposed any additional restrictions on gun ownership or ammunition purchases.
In a statement after that meeting, the Fairfax-based NRA said it attended the session to “discuss how to keep our children safe” and to “have a meaningful conversation about school safety, mental health issues, the marketing of violence to our kids and the collapse of federal prosecutions of violent criminals.”
It added: “We were disappointed with how little this meeting had to do with keeping our children safe and how much it had to do with an agenda to attack the Second Amendment.” It charged that Biden’s task force “spent most of its time on proposed restrictions on lawful firearms owners” and accused the Obama administration of “pushing failed solutions to our nation’s most pressing problems.”
“We will not allow law-abiding gun owners to be blamed for the acts of criminals and madmen,” the NRA said. “Instead, we will now take our commitment and meaningful contributions to members of Congress of both parties who are interested in having an honest conversation about what works — and what does not.”
The Biden group is finishing its discussions with an array of interest groups. Thursday’s meetings conclude with an evening session with representatives of the entertainment and video gaming industries. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. also is meeting separately Thursday with major gun retailers, including Wal-Mart.
On Wednesday, Biden met with gun violence victims and gun safety organizations. He also held conference calls with governors and other state and local elected officials of both parties from across the country.
During Wednesday’s meeting with victims’ groups, Biden vowed urgent action and said the administration would consider “executive actions” that do not require an act of Congress.
“This is a problem that requires immediate attention,” Biden said Wednesday. “The president and I are determined to take action.... I want to make clear that we’re not going to get caught up in the notion that, unless we can do everything, we’re going to do nothing.”
As he opened Thursday’s meeting with groups representing hunters and sportsmen, the vice president said he had already heard “a good deal of talk about gun safety,” even among former Senate colleagues “opposed to any restrictions on gun ownership.”
“I’ve never quite heard as much talk about the need to do something about high-capacity magazines as I’ve heard spontaneously from every group that I’ve met with so far,” Biden said.
Biden described himself as “an owner of shotguns,” adding: “I’m no great hunter. It’s mostly skeet shooting for me.”
He said he was still hoping to have a conference call with gun manufacturers.
“There has got to be some common ground, to not solve every problem but diminish the probability” of future mass shootings, he said. “That’s what this is all about. There are no conclusions I have reached.”
Referring to the Newtown slayings, he said: “There is nothing that has pricked the consciousness of the American people” as much as the image of “little 6-year-olds riddled ... with bullet holes” in their classrooms.
The “stakeholders” at Thursday’s first meeting sat around a large polished wooden table at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House. They were joined by several administration officials, including Holder, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
Sari Horwitz contributed to this report. ||||| The National Rifle Association has gained more than 100,000 new members in the past 18 days, the organization told POLITICO’s Playbook on Thursday.
The number of paid new members jumped from 4.1 million to 4.2 million during that time.
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(Also on POLITICO: Expectations low for Biden, NRA talks)
“Our goal is to get to 5 million before this debate is over,” the NRA told POLITICO’s Mike Allen.
Those comments come as Vice President Joe Biden gears up to meet with NRA representatives Thursday to discuss gun policy after the Dec. 14 mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., prompted a national conversation on the subject.
(PHOTOS: Celebrities speak out on gun control)
“We are willing to talk to policymakers about any reasonable proposals and plans,” an NRA official said in the Playbook report, regarding the upcoming meeting with Biden. “However, the NRA is hearing not just from Beltway elites and the chattering class, but real Americans all over the country that are hoping the NRA is not going to compromise on any of the principles of the Second Amendment, nor are we going to support banning guns. But we’re willing to listen.”
(Also on POLITICO: Chris Rock: Mortgage key to gun control)
To join the NRA, one must pay $25. In return, new members may choose to receive a “Rosewood Handle Knife, Black & Gold Duffel Bag or Digital Camo Duffel Bag,” the Playbook report said.
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– The Sandy Hook shooting has been good for business for the NRA. In the last 18 days, the group has signed up more than 100,000 new members, it told Politico today. That bumped its overall membership from 4.1 million to 4.2 million. "Our goal is to get to 5 million before this debate is over," the group said. What's more, the powerful lobby says it doesn't expect much to come of its meeting with Joe Biden on ways to reduce gun violence. "We are willing to talk," an official said. But he says the group is hearing from politicians and "real Americans all over the country that are hoping the NRA is not going to compromise on any of the principles of the Second Amendment." Biden, meanwhile, plans to hand over his recommendations to the president by Tuesday, reports the Washington Post. Universal background checks and restrictions on high-capacity magazines are expected to be among them.
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Image caption This artist's impression shows HIP 13044 b, an exoplanet orbiting a star that entered the Milky Way from another galaxy
Astronomers claim to have discovered the first planet originating from outside our galaxy.
The Jupiter-like planet, they say, is part of a solar system which once belonged to a dwarf galaxy.
This dwarf galaxy was in turn devoured by our own galaxy, the Milky Way, according to a team writing in the academic journal Science.
The star, called HIP 13044, is nearing the end of its life and is 2000 light years from Earth.
The discovery was made using a telescope in Chile.
Cosmic cannibalism
Planet hunters have so far netted nearly 500 so-called "exoplanets" outside our Solar System using various astronomical techniques.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption A video shows how the distant solar system may appear
But all of those so far discovered, say the researchers, are indigenous to our own galaxy, the Milky Way.
This find is different, they say, because the planet circles a sun which belongs to a group of stars called the "Helmi stream" which are known to have once belonged to a separate dwarf galaxy.
This galaxy was gobbled up by the Milky Way between six and nine billion years ago in an act of intergalactic cannibalism.
The new planet is thought to have a minimum mass 1.25 times that of Jupiter and circles in close proximity to its parent star, with an orbit lasting just 16.2 days.
Image caption The exoplanet was detected by a team using the MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope in Chile
It sits in the southern constellation of Fornax.
The planet would have been formed in the early era of its solar system, before the world was incorporated into our own galaxy, say the researchers.
"This discovery is very exciting," said Rainer Klement of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany, who targetted the stars in the study.
"For the first time, astronomers have detected a planetary system in a stellar stream of extragalactic origin. This cosmic merger has brought an extragalactic planet within our reach."
Dr Robert Massey of the UK's Royal Astronomical Society said the paper provided the first "hard evidence" of a planet of extragalactic origin.
"There's every reason to believe that planets are really quite widespread throughout the Universe, not just in our own galaxy, the Milky Way, but also in the thousands of millions of others there are," he said, "but this is the first time we've got hard evidence of that."
End Days
The new find might also offer us a glimpse of what the final days of our own Solar System may look like.
HIP 13044 is nearing its end. Having consumed all the hydrogen fuel in its core, it expanded massively into a "red giant" and might have eaten up smaller rocky planets like our own Earth in the process, before contracting.
The new Jupiter-like planet discovered appears to have survived the fireball, for the moment.
"This discovery is particularly intriguing when we consider the distant future of our own planetary system, as the Sun is also expected to become a red giant in about five billion years," said Dr Johny Setiawan, who also works at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, and who led the study.
"The star is rotating relatively quickly," he said. "One explanation is that HIP 13044 swallowed its inner planets during the red giant phase, which would make the star spin more quickly."
The new planet was discovered using what is called the "radial velocity method" which involves detecting small wobbles in a star caused by a planet as it tugs on its sun.
These wobbles were picked up using a ground-based telescope at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla facility in Chile. ||||| Some extrasolar planets are truly out of this world.
Astronomers have for the first time discovered a planet in the Milky Way that came from another galaxy. The planet, which has a mass of at least 1.25 Jupiters, orbits an elderly star that was ripped from a small satellite galaxy some 6 to 9 billion years ago.
Johny Setiawan and Rainer Klement of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany, describe the finding online November 18 in Science.
“The coolness factor is definitely that the planet and star came from another galaxy,” says Sara Seager of MIT, who was not part of the study. “The planet almost certainly formed during the time the star was in the other galaxy.”
In hunting for extrasolar planets, Setiawan and his colleagues homed in on HIP 13044, about 2,000 light-years from Earth, because it’s part of a stream of stars called Helmi, believed to have originated in another galaxy. The star’s motion could also be monitored for many months each year with a spectrograph at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla site in Chile, looking for telltale wobbles that would indicate the tiny tug of an unseen, orbiting planet.
HIP 13044 and the other stars in the Helmi stream stand out in the solar neighborhood because they have elongated orbits that take them about 42,000 light-years above and below the plane of the Milky Way’s disk. Such orbits strongly suggest the stars were part of a group torn from a satellite galaxy and stretched out by gravitational tidal forces into a filament or stream.
The discovery, notes planet hunter Scott Gaudi of Ohio State University in Columbus, “is doubly weird: It is a weird planet around a weird star.” The star is unusual because it has the lowest abundance of metals — about 1 percent of the sun’s — of any star known to have a planet. (In astronomical parlance, a metal refers to any element heavier than helium.) The vast majority of the roughly 500 extrasolar planets known are found around stars with a much higher metal abundance, and the leading theory of planet formation suggests that stars with high metal contents are those that form giant, Jupiter-like planets.
Also unusual is that HIP 13044 is old enough to have exhausted its supply of hydrogen fuel and passed through the red giant phase of evolution, in which it mushroomed in size. Since then the star contracted to a diameter about seven times that of the sun and is now burning helium at its core. A star in this phase of evolution, known as the red horizontal branch, has never before been found to have a planet.
In part, that’s because the enhanced activity of old, evolved stars, including the presence of magnetically driven disturbances known as starspots, makes it more difficult to discern a stellar wobble, says Setiawan. In addition, “there is a high risk that you will not find any planets because they have been engulfed by the star during the [red giant] evolutionary phase,” he adds.
In order to survive, HIP 13044’s planet, which now resides much closer to the star than Mercury does to the sun, must have originally orbited at a much greater distance, the researchers say. That’s the only way it could have escaped being swallowed during the time the star was a red giant. (In several billion years, the sun will also become a puffed-up red giant and is likely to engulf Earth and the other inner planets.)
Other planets that resided closer to HIP 13044 would not have been so lucky. One explanation for the star’s relatively rapid rate of rotation is that it has been spun up by the angular momentum of planets it swallowed. Other rapidly rotating, elderly stars that have evolved to the red horizontal branch may have had similar dining habits, researchers have previously noted.
Even though the newfound planet has dodged one bullet, it will soon face another. In a few million years, when the star exhausts all the helium forged at its core, it will undergo a more rapid and larger expansion in which the planet is likely to be destroyed.
See Also:
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– As planets go, HIP 13044B is one hell of a survivor. Astronomers say the planet—the first one originating from another galaxy ever found in the Milky Way—is part of a solar system that once belonged to a dwarf galaxy that was cannibalized by our own. The planet has already survived its elderly star's red giant phase, which left it with an unusual orbit that drew it to astronomers' attention, Wired reports. The intergalactic immigrant is the first concrete evidence that planets exist in other galaxies. "There's every reason to believe that planets are really quite widespread throughout the universe, not just in our own galaxy, the Milky Way, but also in the thousands of millions of others there are," one astronomer tells the BBC. "This is the first time we've got hard evidence of that." Researchers say the find provides clues about the likely fate of our own solar system.
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The most "Portlandia" thing happened during the Bernie Sanders rally at the Moda Center on Friday.
The Vermont senator put a bird on it -- the podium, that is. Or was it that the bird put itself there? Either way, in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sanders didn't miss a beat.
"I think there may be some symbolism here," he said. "I know it doesn't look like it, but that bird is really a dove asking us for world peace. No more wars."
And the crowd went wild.
Bernie Sanders holds rally at the Moda Center in Portland 59 Gallery: Bernie Sanders holds rally at the Moda Center in Portland
--Eder Campuzano
503.221.4344
@edercampuzano
[email protected] ||||| Published on Mar 25, 2016
A bird flew on the podium at the Bernie Sanders rally in Portland hosted at the Moda Center.
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– You know what they say: When in Portland, do as the Portlanders do. The Oregonian reports Bernie Sanders put a bird on it during a rally at the Moda Center in Portland on Friday. According to CNN, Sanders noticed a small green bird land near where he was speaking and started to address it, saying, "Now you see, this little bird doesn't know it…" But before he could finish, the bird fluttered up to the podium for a closer look, bringing a smile to the candidate's face and the crowd to its feet. The bird quickly flew away, but Sanders wasn't done with it yet. "I think there may be some symbolism here," he said. "I know it doesn't look like it, but that bird is really a dove asking us for world peace. No more wars." See the Bernie bird video here.
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MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- A closely divided Alabama Supreme Court today rejected the appeal of a Stevenson man who fought to keep his wife's grave in his front yard.
In a 5-3 decision the state's high court rejected a request by James Davis to take up his case after the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals ruled against him in April and in favor of the City of Stevenson.
Justices Tom Parker, Lyn Stuart, Michael Bolin, Greg Shaw and James Allen Main ruled against Davis. Chief Justice Roy Moore, Justice Glenn Murdock and Justice Alisa Kelli Wise, wanted to grant Davis' petition. Justice Tommy Bryan recused himself, because he had been on the Court of Civil Appeals that had previously ruled in the case.
The court did not issue an opinion in the case.
Davis argued his family burial plot did not fall under the laws regulating cemeteries so he could bury his deceased wife without getting a city permit, according to attorney Ron Smith, who represented Stevenson.
Stevenson had cited a number of concerns including the appearance of a grave in a front yard downtown, the effect on property values and the complaints of some neighbors.
"We're pleased with the ruling of the Supreme Court and believe it to be correct," Smith said.
The City of Stevenson successfully sued last year in Jackson County Circuit Court to force Davis to disinter the grave near the front porch of the home the couple had shared.
James and Patsy Davis had been married for 48 years, the Associated Press reported. She died in 2009 and he buried her according to her wishes.
Updated to correct Smith's role in case, number of justices who dissented.
||||| STEVENSON, Ala. — James Davis figures that his first mistake was asking permission. If a man promises his wife he will bury her in the front yard, then he should just do so.
But ever since Mr. Davis granted his dying wife’s wish by laying her to rest just off his front porch, he and the City of Stevenson have been at odds. From City Hall to the courts, the government of this little railroad town in southern Appalachia has tried to convince Mr. Davis that a person who lives in a town cannot just set up a cemetery anywhere he likes. On Oct. 11, the Alabama Supreme Court affirmed a judge’s decision saying as much.
But Mr. Davis, 74, is not inclined to back down.
“They’re waiting on me to die,” he said early last week, standing on the porch of the log house he built and looking out over his lawn, which along with the grave features an outhouse and a large sign demanding that his wife be allowed to rest in peace. “I am not digging her up.”
Alabama, like most states, has no state law against burying someone on private property, and family graves are not all that rare in the country. Sherry Bradley, the deputy director of environmental services for the State Department of Public Health, said people asked her about private burial several times a week.
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“You wouldn’t believe the calls I get,” she said, mentioning one woman who wanted to stage a “Viking burial” by putting her deceased husband in a boat and setting it on fire. (“The answer to that one was no,” she said.)
While private burials are permitted in rural areas, cities and towns often have ordinances governing the burials, to which the state defers.
Stevenson does not have such an ordinance, though Joshua Slocum, the director of the Funeral Consumers Alliance, a nonprofit watchdog group based in Vermont, said this was not atypical. Many cities lack burial ordinances because the issue of private burial hardly ever comes up, he said.
“It’s usually the case that people don’t ask to be buried in city limits,” Mr. Slocum said.
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Mr. Davis and his wife, Patsy, grew up in Dayton, Tenn., having first met when she was 7 and he was 11. She was a teenager when he asked her to accompany him to a strawberry festival. “We went on that one date, and it was me and her the rest of the time,” he said. They were married for 48 years and had five children.
In her later years, Mrs. Davis came down with an array of painful ailments, including crippling arthritis, and Mr. Davis retired from his job as an electrical worker to take care of her. Eventually, the doctors said that extending her life would only make it more painful. She died in April 2009, and ever since he has slept in his easy chair, finding the bedroom depressing.
Shortly before her death, Mr. Davis said, she expressed her wish to be buried in the yard of the house where they had spent three decades together. So he went to work, getting approval from the county’s Health Department and pressing the City Council for a permit.
The Council told Mr. Davis that he had not completed the necessary paperwork, and after two meetings, it voted to deny his request, speaking about its potential impact on property values and about who would take care of it in perpetuity. (The tombstone has Mr. Davis’s name beside his wife’s, and he planned to end up in the yard as well.) Parker Edmiston, the city attorney, said he was concerned about setting a precedent.
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“If you allow it for Mr. Davis, you allow it for Ms. Adams, Mr. Jones and everyone else,” Mr. Edmiston said, adding that this was the most protracted litigation in the city since a case a few years ago involving something about pigs.
According to court filings, Mr. Davis declared to the City Council members that he would sue and take his case to the State Supreme Court if necessary. But instead, he just decided to ignore them.
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“I just got a backhoe and went ahead,” Mr. Davis said, later arguing that the lack of a specific burial ordinance meant that they had no right to stop him. He installed a vault, the funeral home put his wife in the coffin, and on a Saturday morning 10 days after the City Council vote, Mrs. Davis was laid to rest before a gathering of family members.
The city sued him a month later.
Mr. Davis waged the legal fight for the next four years, running up thousands of dollars in legal fees. At one point, he even ran for mayor, but lost. In 2012, a Circuit Court judge found in favor of the city and ordered Mr. Davis to move his wife’s remains to a “properly licensed and approved cemetery.” But the grave remained undisturbed as the case made it through the appeals process.
The neighbors, though admitting that it is a little weird, have gotten used to the grave site up the road. “It’s his wife,” said Margaret Garner, 56. “He’s got the right.”
But at least according to the courts, he does not.
Over the weekend, after his denial at the Supreme Court had attracted national news media attention, he was contacted by twin brothers from Southern California: one a screenwriter, the other the director of an organization dedicated to producing a new translation of the Bible.
The brothers encouraged Mr. Davis to protect his grave site by turning his house into a church, and they even created a Web site advertising the brand-new Stevenson Bible Church, a “family-oriented Bible-believing church: baptisms, weddings, on-site cemetery.” Services were scheduled for every Sunday morning at 10, and Mr. Davis was referred to as the pastor.
He was not sold on the idea.
On Friday, Mr. Davis was back in court, and while he warned of “an incident” if the city came onto his property, he suggested a compromise: he would dig up the coffin, cremate his wife’s remains and put the urn with her ashes back in the grave. In her dying days, Mrs. Davis had said she was afraid of cremation, Mr. Davis said. But a lot of time has passed since then. “If she saw herself as she is now, I know she would not mind,” he said.
Mr. Edmiston acknowledged that there was no law against tombstones or the placement of ashes, but he insisted that the coffin and the vault be removed. So if Mr. Davis fully complies with the city’s order, the yard will end up looking exactly as it does now, only with an urn rather than a coffin underneath.
This may raise the question as to what the whole fight was about. But Mr. Davis has no doubts.
“There was never any couple in love like us,” he said. “We was meant to be together.” ||||| STEVENSON, Alabama -- The City of Stevenson is continuing to press its case to remove the remains of a woman buried in the front yard of her family home, while the homeowner, her husband, is determined to rebuff those efforts.
James E. Davis' court battle with the small city in Jackson County began in 2009 following the death of Patsy Davis. He buried his wife of 48 years in the front yard of their home, according to her wishes.
The city opposed the effort, citing the appearance of a grave in a downtown yard, the effect on property values and neighbor complaints. The city eventually won a court ruling ordering the exhumation of the remains. Davis appealed and got a stay in the case, but he was unsuccessful in the appeal and the Alabama Supreme Court said Oct. 11 it would not take up the matter.
Davis's attorney Timothy Pittman said today the city may feel vindicated by the Supreme Court's decision not to take up the case, but he said it could prove to be a meaningless victory, even if Mrs. Davis's remains are exhumed.
"The court's order is for the remains to be removed, but Mr. Davis does not intend to remove the headstone or the cement vault and the casket will remain," Pittman said. "Hopefully, the city will reconsider since the site will never be moved."
Pittman said the city is looking to take dramatic steps, but the yard will look the same and the effect will fall almost entirely on Davis.
"When it comes right down to it, the result hasn't changed anything for anybody but Mr. Davis," he said. "In particular, exhuming a body is a crazy remedy and a really emotionally trying thing.
"When it's time for a shovel to meet dirt, hopefully the city will see it's not worth it."
In a filing today, attorneys for Stevenson are seeking costs associated with the litigation and are asking a Jackson County Circuit Judge Jennifer Holt to enforce her March 2012 order that reads in part, "James E. Davis shall remove his wife's remains from its current location ... and inter her remains in a properly licensed and approved cemetery."
Davis still hasn't decided if he will appeal the order in federal court, Pittman said. They have until Nov. 11 to file an appeal and Pittman said he and Davis continue to believe the court's order is both "logically and factually incorrect."
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– An Alabama man who has been fighting local government since 2009 for the right to keep his wife's grave in his front yard has finally backed down: He has said he will dig up her body and have it cremated, so long as he can put the ashes back in the grave, the New York Times reports. James Davis' compromise comes after four years of legal battles with the city of Stevenson. After he was defeated in the state's court of civil appeals, the case made it all the way to the Alabama Supreme Court, which earlier this month declined to take up the case, the Huntsville Times reports. Davis, 74, who buried his wife of 48 years in the yard at her request, says she had been afraid of cremation, but thinks enough time has passed. "If she saw herself as she is now, I know she would not mind," he tells the New York Times. A city attorney says there's no law against having a tombstone or ashes in your front garden, but says the coffin and the vault Davis installed for it will have to go. But Davis' lawyer says that isn't happening. "The court's order is for the remains to be removed, but Mr. Davis does not intend to remove the headstone or the cement vault and the casket will remain," he says, per the Huntsville Times. So perhaps the fight will live on...
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Socialite Ivana Trump kicked off an airliner after 'foul-mouthed tirade at noisy children'
Belligerent: Ivana Trump was kicked off a flight
Socialite Ivana Trump had to be escorted off a plane after launching a foul-mouthed tirade at noisy children.
The former wife of billionaire property mogul Donald Trump started screaming the F-word as several excited youngsters ran up and down the first-class aisle.
The grandmother of one became even angrier as flight attendants tried to calm her down, allegedly rushing towards the cockpit.
When the pilot asked her to leave the New York-bound flight before take-off, the hysterical Miss Trump refused to budge.
The former Olympic skier and model, 60 - who split from her much younger fourth husband this month - was eventually 'physically escorted' back to the terminal by security guards, officials said.
'From the initial contact until Miss Trump left the property, she was saying "f*** you" to all the deputies and called the children "little f******",' said a police spokesman.
'She was so belligerent towards other passengers and crew that the plane returned to the terminal.'
She had apparently started complaining as soon as she boarded the aircraft, demanding to be moved to another seat in first class.
At first she was said to have put on a set of headphones to block out the noise, but a crying baby sent her over the edge.
Scene of the set-to: Palm Beach Airport where Ivana was escorted off the plane
Split: Ivana has recently split from fourth husband Rossano Rubicondi
Passenger Vincent Cone said: 'She was swearing at the baby.
'The reason she got so upset was the children and she started screaming, "I want to go back home".
'The pilots asked her to leave and she sat back down and refused to leave. Then they went and got a security guy. She kept saying, "Let go of me!".
'Everyone was leaning into the aisle, trying to get a good look, saying how crazy she was and how annoyed they were at how she was delaying the flight.'
The ruckus meant the Delta-Northwest flight from Palm Beach, Florida, was postponed for two hours.
Miss Trump was not charged with any crime, however, and although the FBI was informed about the incident on Saturday, an investigation was not launched.
Her Italian husband, Rossano Rubicondi, 37, was said to be in Europe at the time that Miss Trump announced she was ending their 20-month marriage.
She said they had struggled to find time to get together while he mainly worked and lived in Italy and she was busy with hotel and resort development projects around the world.
Her spokesman was not available for comment last night. ||||| Ivana Trump, the first ex-wife of billionaire Donald Trump , was escorted by sheriff's deputies off a flight Saturday afternoon at Palm Beach International Airport after she screamed and cursed at children, authorities said.Trump, 60, of Palm Beach, was seated in first class and apparently became irate because children were running up and down the aisle and screaming, Palm Beach County sheriff's officials said.Trump, who last week filed for divorce from her third husband, has not been charged in the incident. The FBI declined to investigate, sheriff's officials said.Flight attendants on the LaGuardia-bound Delta flight told deputies that they tried to calm Trump by offering her another seat and headphones. Trump instead became more belligerent.The plane was just leaving gate C1 when the incident occurred, and the pilot decided to pull back to the gate and call for help, officials said.According to the Sheriff's Office, Trump used the "f" word toward the crew and passengers, including children. Officials said she began screaming in vulgar terms for children to shut up.Deputies asked Trump to voluntarily exit the plane, but they said she refused numerous times. Deputies then "physically escorted her off the aircraft," officials said.Deputies said Trump repeatedly cursed at them as well. Trump's driver picked her up at the airport soon after.
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– Ivana Trump was kicked off a plane Saturday following an F-bomb-laced tirade directed at children on the Palm Beach-to-NYC flight. Ivana, first ex-wife of Donald Trump, became enraged by some kids who were running up and down the first-class aisles but refused offers of another seat or headphones, sheriff’s officials tell the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The pilot then returned to the gate, where deputies “physically escorted her off the aircraft.” Trump, 60, allegedly called the kids “little fuckers” and used similar terms to address deputies and flight attendants. She swore at a crying baby as well, one passenger tells the Mail. She was not charged with any crime. As the New York Post points out, this isn’t Trump’s first airplane meltdown: She also complained about her seat assignment and called nearby kids “barbarians” on a September flight.
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Ryan Reynold’s “Deadpool 2” is set to take the No. 1 box office crown from “Avengers: Infinity War” this weekend, with $133.5 million from 4,349 North American locations.
The third R-rated superhero film from Fox took in $53.3 million Friday, including a record-setting $18.6 million from Thursday previews, the highest Thursday tally for an R-rated film (“It” had previously held the title with $13.5 million). “Deadpool 2’s” 4,349 theaters also mark Fox’s widest launch ever.
The “Deadpool” sequel will break its own predecessor’s record as the highest opening weekend for an R-rated film — “Deadpool” stunned the industry two years ago with $132.4 million. The original’s unique take on the superhero genre, with Reynolds breaking the fourth wall to address the audience directly, made the film a must-see, and it went on to earn $363 million in North America and $783 worldwide, making it the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time.
Reynolds returns as the wisecracking mercenary in the 11th title in the X-Men franchise. David Leitch replaced Tim Miller as director, helming from a script by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Reynolds. The story sees Deadpool forming the X-Force — comprised of Zazie Beetz’s Domino, T.J. Miller’s Weasel, Terry Crews’ Bedlam, Bill Skarsgard’s Zeitgeist, and Rob Delaney’s Peter — to protect a young mutant from Josh Brolin’s Cable.
Related Ryan Reynolds Wants to Explore Deadpool's Bisexuality in Future Films North American Box Office Hits Record $3.33 Billion in Second Quarter
“Infinity War” will drop down to the second place slot in its fourth weekend with $27 million from 4,002 domestic sites, down 472 from last weekend. The Disney-Marvel tentpole has become the fourth-highest grossing film at the worldwide box office with $1.710 billion, topping “Jurassic World’s” $1.671 billion. The film has earned $566.3 million domestically in its first 21 days, along with $1.136 billion internationally.
In third is the debut of Paramount’s “Book Club,” starring Jane Fonda, Candace Bergen, Diane Keaton, and Mary Steenburgen. The film will top early estimates, which had pegged it in the $7 million to $10 million range, with $13 million from 2,781 cinemas. Fonda, Bergen, Keaton, and Steenbergen star as four women who read “Fifty Shades of Grey” in their book club and are inspired to spice up their lives. The film has received mixed reviews and carries a 59% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Melissa McCarthy’s Mother’s Day opener “Life of the Party” will reel in around $7 million in its second weekend from 3,656 sites to take the fourth place slot. McCarthy plays a mother who enrolls in the same college as her daughter to earn her degree after divorcing her husband.
“Show Dogs,” from Global Road, will take in $5 million from 3,212 sites for fifth. Directed by Raja Gosnell, the family film follows a rottweiler police dog and his owner going undercover at a prestigious dog show to stop a crime. Will Arnett stars alongside the voice cast of Ludacris, Jordin Sparks, Gabriel Iglesias, Shaquille O’Neal, Stanley Tucci, and Alan Cumming.
POPULAR ON VARIETY: ||||| The sequel doesn't match the opening of the first 'Deadpool' in the U.S., but launches to a record $176 million overseas; the adult-skewing 'Book Club' opens to $12.5 million, while 'Show Dogs' falters.
Superheroes continued to dominate the box office over the weekend as Ryan Reynolds and Fox's Deadpool 2 bowed to $125 million domestically and $301 million globally after scoring the biggest foreign debut ever for an R-rated title.
After falling off more than expected on Saturday, the sequel couldn't match the North American opening of the first Deadpool, which launched to $132.4 million in February 2016, the best showing in history for an R-rated title. Nevertheless, Deadpool 2 still scored the third-best domestic bow of the year to date behind fellow superhero tentpoles Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther, as well as the No. 2 launch ever for an R-rated film. It is also Fox's second biggest weekend opening in history behind Deadpool.
Overseas, Deadpool 2 rocketed to $176 million from 81 markets, Fox's biggest opening of all time internationally — and that's without China, where the film doesn't yet have a release date. X-Men: Days of Future Past was the previous Fox champ ($174 million), while Fox's Logan had been the record holder for biggest foreign bow for an R-rated movie ($160 million).
Playing in a total of 4,349 theaters in North America — the widest release in Fox history — Deadpool 2 was frontloaded. It earned a massive $18.6 million in Thursday-evening previews, followed by $53 million on Friday, the top opening day for an R-rated pic. Like Deadpool, the sequel earned an A CinemaScore from audiences. The film skewed male (61 percent), while a pleasing 38 percent of ticket buyers were under the age of 25.
Deadpool 2, directed by David Leitch, follows the irreverent Deadpool (Reynolds) as he forms an X-Force posse in hopes of stopping the evil Cable (Josh Brolin). Morena Baccarin, Julian Dennison, Zazie Beetz, T.J. Miller, Brianna Hildebrand and Jack Kesy co-star. Reynolds produced the sequel and co-wrote the script with his Deadpool collaborators Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.
"The audience's appetite for Merc with the Mouth hasn't waned at all," says Fox domestic distribution chief Chris Aronson. "And Ryan Reynolds was tireless in promoting this movie on a global basis."
The foreign opening was up 7 percent when comparing like markets to like markets, while Deadpool 2 came in 5.5 percent behind Deadpool's domestic debut. (The first film bowed over the long Presidents Day/Valentine's Day weekend.) Offshore, the U.K. led with $18 million, followed by South Korea ($17 million), Russia ($11.8 million), Australia ($11.7 million) and Mexico ($10.1 million).
Deadpool 2 — which hit theaters as the Fox film empire prepares for the Disney/21st Century Fox merger — easily toppled Disney and Marvel's superhero mashup Infinity War from the top spot. The latter pic was no slouch, however, grossing $28.7 million in its fourth weekend to finish Sunday with a North American total of $595 million and topping the $1.8 billion mark worldwide.
Overseas, Infinity War earned another $84.4 million, fueled by another $53.7 million in China for a foreign total of $1.218 billion and global haul of $1.813 billion, the No. 4 gross of all time. In China, the film cleared the $300 million mark, a feat accomplished by only three other Hollywood titles. Paramount's hit horror film A Quiet Place also made noise in China with an opening of nearly $18 million, bringing that movie's global total to $296.5 million (many think the China debut will end up closer to $19 million).
Thanks in large part to the strength of Deadpool 2 and Infinity War, domestic revenue was up a staggering 64 percent over the same weekend last year, when new openers included Alien: Covenant.
Infinity War came in No. 2 over the weekend, followed by Paramount's adult-skewing, female-fronted Book Club in third place with $12.5 million from 2,781 theaters, slightly ahead of expectations. An estimated 80 percent of ticket buyers were female, while nearly 90 percent of the audience was over 35 — including 60 percent over 50.
Directed by Bill Holderman, Book Club stars Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen as four friends who decide to read Fifty Shades of Grey with unintended consequences. Craig T. Nelson, Andy Garcia and Don Johnson play the love interests.
"In a weekend of Deadpool and the Royal Wedding ... we hit the bullseye — we got the underserved audience this movie was made for, and who also don’t tend to come out opening weekend," says a spokesperson for Paramount, which acquired rights to the movie for $10 million.
The third new nationwide offering of the weekend, Show Dogs, couldn't quite find its bark. The family film opened in sixth place with $6 million from 3,145 cinemas.
Rated PG, the Global Road pic chronicles the adventures of a Rottweiler police dog (voiced by Chris "Ludacris" Bridges) that infiltrates a prestigious dog show with the help of his human partner (Will Arnett). Other castmembers include Natasha Lyonne, Jordin Sparks, Gabriel Iglesias, Shaquille O'Neal and Alan Cumming.
Both Book Club and Show Dogs earned an A- CinemaScore.
Back in the top five, Melissa McCarthy's Life of the Party fell a steep 57 percent in its second weekend to $7.7 million for a domestic total of $31 million, and the Gabrielle Union thriller Breaking In fell even more in its sophomore outing, dipping 63 percent to $6.5 million for a 10-day total of $28.7 million.
New openings at the specialty box office included A24's First Reformed, directed by Paul Schrader. The critically acclaimed film stars Ethan Hawke as a troubled pastor and Amanda Seyfried as a parishioner who comes to him for help.
Opening in four locations, First Reformed posted a solid per-screen average of roughly $25,067 upon grossing $100,270.
Days after its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Focus Features' documentary Pope Francis — A Man of His Word debuted in 346 cinemas in select markets across the U.S., grossing $480,000 for a per-screen average of $1,369.
That wasn't enough to match another doc about a revered public figure — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — as RBG earned $1.3 million from 375 cinemas in its third outing for a domestic total of $3.9 million. Magnolia and Participant Media partnered on the film's release.
A 70mm cut of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey scored the top location average of any film in a special engagement in four theaters. The special 50th anniversary screening, engineered by Warner Bros. with the help of Christopher Nolan, grossed $200,000 for a per-screen average of $50,000.
While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding on Saturday was a big draw on television, a special viewing in theaters couldn't boast the same. According to early estimates, Fathom's The Royal Wedding grossed roughly $54,000 from 194 theaters for an average of $278.
May 20, 8:30 a.m. Updated with foreign grosses.
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– Superheroes ruled the weekend box office as DeadPool 2 ousted Avengers: Infinity War from its top perch, per Variety. The Ryan Reynolds sequel scored $133.5 million at home, beating the original's $132.4 million domestical haul and making it the highest-grossing R-rated debut ever. Infinity War banked another $27 million in the US and $84.4 million overall, bringing its global earnings to $1.813 billion, the fourth-highest ever, says the Hollywood Reporter. The female-driven Book Club with Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, Jane Fonda, and Mary Steenburgen took third ($12.5 million) followed by Melissa McCarthy's Life of the Party ($7 million) and Show Dogs ($5 million).
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Toxic tea from Chinatown shop in SF sends 2 to hospital
Photo: Google Maps Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Image 1 of 1 A woman in her 50s and a man in his 30s became sick within an hour of sipping a tea made from leaves sold by the Sun Wing Wo Trading Co., an herbalist at 1105 Grant Ave. A woman in her 50s and a man in his 30s became sick within an hour of sipping a tea made from leaves sold by the Sun Wing Wo Trading Co., an herbalist at 1105 Grant Ave. Photo: Google Maps Toxic tea from Chinatown shop in SF sends 2 to hospital 1 / 1 Back to Gallery
Two people are critically ill and remain hospitalized after consuming a toxic herbal tea bought on Grant Avenue in Chinatown, according to the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
In separate incidents in February and March, a woman in her 50s and a man in his 30s became sick within an hour of sipping a tea made from leaves sold by the Sun Wing Wo Trading Co., an herbalist at 1105 Grant Ave.
Both victims rapidly developed weakness, followed by life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms that required resuscitation and intensive hospital care. A plant-based toxin, aconite, was found in lab tests of the patients and the tea samples they provided.
Inspectors from the city’s health department are removing the products consumed by the two patients from the shelves at Sun Wing Wo Trading Co. The health department is also working with the shop owner to trace the source of the contamination and ensure that no future customers are exposed to it.
“Anyone who has purchased tea from this location should not consume it and should throw it away immediately,” said Dr. Tomás Aragón, health officer for the city. “Aconite poisoning attacks the heart and can be lethal.”
Known to treat pains, bruises and other conditions, aconite — also called called monkshood, helmet flower, wolfsbane, chuanwu, caowu and fuzi — has been used in Asian herbal medicine for thousands of years. While the plant’s raw flowers are highly toxic in their natural state, once properly processed, they can be safely consumed. There is no antidote for aconite poisoning.
While people who have purchased and consumed the tea without experiencing symptoms are safe, they should stop consuming it, according to health officials. Anyone who experiences symptoms after consuming the tea should call 911 or go immediately to the nearest hospital. Symptoms usually begin within a few minutes or up to a couple hours and can include: numbness or tingling of the face, mouth or limbs; weakness in the limbs; paralysis; low blood pressure; chest pain; palpitations; nausea and diarrhea.
The connection to the Sun Wing Wo Trading Co. emerged after both cases were referred to the California Poison Control System at San Francisco General Hospital.
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“The investigation is just starting, but we know that the tea in both instances came from the same place,” said Rachael Kagan, spokeswoman for the San Francisco Department of Public Health. “And in each instance the person had drank the tea recently.”
A woman who answered the phone at the herbal shop said she could not comment.
J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @sfjkdineen ||||| Tea containing Aconite, a plant-based lethal poison. (SFPD Photo)
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — Two people became critically ill after drinking herbal tea that was purchased at a San Francisco Chinatown store, officials with the San Francisco Public Health Department said Friday.
The victims, a woman in her 50s and a man in his 30s, both were hospitalized in separate incidents that occurred in February and March, according to health officials.
The tea was made from leaves purchased at the Chinatown business Sun Wing Wo Trading Company, located at 1105 Grant Avenue.
Within an hour of drinking the tea, the victims suffered from weakness and life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms, requiring resuscitation and intensive hospital care.
Lab tests found that the tea contained Aconite, a plant-based lethal poison, health officials said.
Health department officials have removed the product from the store’s shelves and are working with the store’s owner to trace the source of contamination.
“Anyone who purchased tea from this location should not consume it and should throw it away immediately,” San Francisco Health Officer Dr. Thomas Aragon, MD said in a statement. “Aconite poisoning attacks the heart and can be lethal.”
Individuals who consumed the tea and have not had any symptoms are safe, but should not consume it anymore. Anyone who experiences symptoms from the tea should call 911 or go the nearest hospital immediately, health officials said.
Symptoms can take over within a few minutes or a couple of hours and can depend on the amount consumed, according to health officials.
Symptoms include sensory abnormalities such as numbness or tingling of the face, mouth or limbs, weakness in the limbs and paralysis. Cardiovascular abnormalities such as low blood pressure, palpitations, chest pains, slow or fast heartbeats, as well as irregular heartbeats, which can lead to sudden death, may also be experienced, in addition to gastrointestinal abnormalities, such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea.
There is no antidote for Aconite poisoning, according to health officials.
Aconite is also called monkshood, helmet flower, wolfsbane, “chuanwu,” “caowu,” and “fuzi,” and is used as a remedy in Asian herbal medicine for bruises, pain and other conditions. Raw aconite roots are generally toxic but may used after adequate processing, health officials said.
© Copyright 2017 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed ||||| SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Two people have been poisoned after drinking herbal tea in San Francisco, according to the Department of Public Health.
The residents are critically ill and are hospitalized, officials said. The tea contained Aconite, a lethal poison.
“In separate incidents in February and March, a woman in her 50s and a man in his 30s became critically ill within an hour of drinking tea made from leaves supplied by the same San Francisco herbalist. Each quickly developed weakness, and then life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms, requiring resuscitation and intensive hospital care. A plant-based toxin, Aconite, was found in lab tests of the patients and the tea samples they provided,” health officials said in a press release.
The tea leaves were bought at the Sun Wing Wo Trading Company, located at 1105 Grant Avenue, in Chinatown, officials said. Health inspectors are removing the two products from the shelves.
“Anyone who has purchased tea from this location should not consume it and should throw it away immediately,” Health Officer for the City & County of San Francisco Dr. Tomás Aragón said. “Aconite poisoning attacks the heart and can be lethal.”
If you bought the tea, drank it, and did not feel symptoms, health officials are still urging you to stop drinking it.
Here are a few symptoms:
sensory abnormalities numbness or tingling of the face, mouth or limbs weakness in the limbs paralysis
cardiovascular abnormalities dangerously low blood pressure palpitations chest pain slow or fast heart beat irregular heartbeats that can lead to sudden death
gastrointestinal abnormalities nausea, vomiting abdominal pain diarrhea
There is no antidote for the poison, officials said.
Aconite is commonly called monkshood, helmet flower, wolfsbane, chuanwu, caowu, and fuzi. It is used in Asian herbal medicine to treat pains, bruises, and other conditions.
“Raw Aconite roots, leaves and flowers are generally toxic but are used only after adequate processing,” officials said.
Stay with KRON4 for updates on this breaking news story on-air, online, and on the KRON4 app.
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– Two people had to be resuscitated and are now seriously ill in the hospital after drinking toxic tea purchased in San Francisco's Chinatown, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The tea, made from leaves purchased at the Sun Wing Wo Trading Co., was found to contain aconite, a plant-based toxin also known as wolfsbane and monkshood. Aconite has been used for thousands of years to treat pain and other maladies but must be properly prepared in order to be safe to drink. There's no antidote to aconite poisoning, which can be fatal, according to CBS San Francisco. KRON has a list of symptoms, including low blood pressure, nausea, and numbness of the face or limbs. The two people who fell ill in San Francisco—a woman in her 50s and a man in his 30s—bought the tea on separate occasions in February and March. Within an hour of drinking the toxic tea, they became weak and began having abnormal heart rhythms that were life-threatening. The San Francisco Department of Public Health has ensured that the tea leaves are no longer for sale at Sun Wing Wo and is working with the trading company to figure out where the aconite came from. (A teen who bought tea onlne to lose weight ended up with hepatitis.)
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* Three previous peace processes failed
* Government wants agreement in matter of months
* FARC weakened by U.S-backed offensive
By Jeff Franks
HAVANA, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Colombia and the Marxist FARC rebels will sit down in Havana on Monday for their first peace talks in 10 years in the latest attempt to end Latin America's longest-running insurgency.
The conflict has dragged on for nearly half a century, taken tens of thousands of lives, displaced millions of people and proven intractable in three previous peace processes.
But both the Colombian government and the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, have expressed optimism that this time might be different.
Government and FARC negotiators will meet in Havana's main convention center in a part of town called Cubanacan, which is lined with palatial homes that once belonged to the elite, virtually all of whom fled Cuba after the 1959 revolution. It is now home mostly to foreign diplomats.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos wants an agreement within nine months, but the two sides face plenty of thorny issues in their five-point agenda. It will begin with rural development, then move on to include such topics as the political and legal future of the rebels, a definitive end to the conflict, the problem of drug trafficking and compensation for war victims.
"We hope, as also hope the majority of Colombians, that the FARC shows that they think this is the moment for the force of ideas and not the force of bullets," lead government negotiator Humberto de la Calle said as he left Bogota for Havana on Sunday.
The conflict dates back to 1964 when the FARC was formed as a communist agrarian movement intent on overturning Colombia's long history of social inequality.
The group has been weakened by a U.S.-backed military offensive begun in 2002 that reduced its numbers to about 8,000 and forced them into remote mountain and jungle strongholds.
But the rebels still have the strength to launch attacks that Santos wants ended so the country can grow its economy, which has been boosted in recent years by oil and mining operations, much of it in areas where the FARC has a strong presence.
The FARC has sustained itself by cocaine trafficking, kidnapping, ransom and "war taxes" in territory it controls.
Its leaders deny involvement in the drug trade and renounced kidnappings earlier this year, but the United States and European Union consider the group a terrorist organization.
Ivan Marquez, a member of the FARC's secretariat, will lead a delegation of about 30 people at the talks, which were formally begun last month in Norway.
Norway is a guarantor of the process, along with Cuba.
Officials want the talks held in the strictest possible secrecy, which is likely the reason they are in Cuba, where the government is expert at keeping information close to the vest and the press at bay.
Venezuela and Chile also will have representatives at the talks. (Additional reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta in Bogota.; Editing by Christopher Wilson) ||||| Story highlights FARC commander Ivan Marquez calls on the Colombian government to join the cease-fire
Colombia's FARC rebels announce one-sided truce as goodwill gesture
FARC is taking part in peace talks with Colombia's government
Bogota has previously rejected any truces before a peace deal
Colombia's top rebel group, FARC, announced Monday it will temporarily halt its decades-old battle against government forces starting at midnight as a goodwill gesture amid peace talks with the Colombia government.
FARC commander Ivan Marquez announced the unilateral cease-fire and called on the the Colombian government to do the same as he arrived for peace talks at Cuba's Convention Palace in Havana Monday.
"Heeding the overwhelming demand for peace from diverse sectors of the country, the FARC secretariat orders guerrilla units across the country to cease military operations and acts of sabotage," Marquez said
The rebel cease-fire is scheduled to start Monday night and last until January 20, the rebel group said. It's unlikely the Colombian government will take part in the two-month truce: Bogota has said previously that it will not consider a cease-fire until after a final agreement is reached.
FARC had signaled that it would pursue a cease-fire, even before peace talks, now being held in Havana, began in mid-October in Norway . Critics of the move believe it's just an attempt by the rebel group to rebuild its forces.
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The leftist FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, has been at war with the government since the 1960s, making it the longest-running insurgency in Latin America.
The U.S. State Department, which has listed FARC as a terror group, posted a $5 million reward for the capture of Marquez, whose real name is Luciano Marin Arango.
There have been sporadic attempts at peace since the 1980s. The last attempt fell apart in 2002. Then-President Andres Pastrana ceded an area the size of Switzerland to the guerrilla group but ended negotiations after rebels launched a series of attacks across the country in an apparent bid to strengthen their position.
But this time, both sides say, they have a more ambitious agenda.
"The end of the armed conflict is the precursor to peace. To achieve it, we have to go deep into the transformation of society," said Humberto de la Calle, a representative for the Colombian government.
The end of hostilities -- the kidnappings and bombings by the FARC and military operations by the government -- will not usher in peace without a true transformation within the country, he said.
Ivan Marquez, a FARC representative, agreed.
"We are not the guerrillas that some media make us out to be," he said. "We come to the table with proposals and projects to achieve a definitive peace, a peace that implies a demilitarization of the state and radical socioeconomic reforms that are the foundation of democracy, justice and freedom."
The FARC continues to carry out kidnappings and attack security forces, though it has been severely weakened in recent years. Two days after peace talks began in Norway, an apparent FARC rebel attack killed five Colombian soldiers
A large distance remains between the sides.
While the Colombian government has said that the FARC could continue to advocate for its positions as a political force, it does not want to negotiate all the group's demands during the peace talks.
"This is about creating an agenda for the end of the conflict that allows the FARC to put forth its ideas unaccompanied by weapons, and with guarantees for its transformation to an unarmed political force," de la Calle said.
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– FARC declared a unilateral ceasefire in its ongoing war against the Colombian government as a sign of goodwill ahead of the peace talks that begin today in Cuba. The Marxist rebels have pledged to stop all military operations until Jan. 20, CNN reports. The government hasn't said if it will follow suit, but CNN thinks that's unlikely. And critics say the ceasefire masks the rebels' true intent: to bulk up their forces, which have been whittled down to about 8,000 over the last decade. The two sides will meet today in Havana to talk peace for the first time in 10 years. Topics on the table will include payments for war victims, the political and legal fate of the rebels, and drug trafficking, Reuters reports
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Watch a clip from ‘Battle of the Sexes,’ starring Emma Stone and Steve Carell. Photo: Searchlight Pictures
It’s the highly improbable Howard Cosell, nasal twang resurrected on Nixon-era videotape, who finally pulls together the very entertaining but disparate parts of “Battle of the Sexes.” Directed by Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton (“Little Miss Sunshine”), the film is an extremely good-natured, upbeat recounting of the infamous Bobby Riggs-Billie Jean King “man vs. woman” match of 1973. But it doesn’t generate much urgency, not till the sportscaster is heard on air, introducing Ms. King at the Houston Astrodome:
“A very attractive young lady,” Cosell begins; the viewer braces him/herself. “If she ever let her hair grow down to her shoulders and took her glasses off, you’d have someone vying for a Hollywood screen test.”
Oh, OK: The importance of this rather vintage story wasn’t about equal rights, equal pay or men and women being equals on the tennis court. It wasn’t even about Ms. King’s coming to terms with her sexuality, though that’s a major part of the movie’s narrative. No, it was about the need to confront a world in which someone with the global exposure of a Cosell could, and would, so casually objectify the top woman tennis player in the world, and do it for a TV audience of 90 million people.
Emma Stone Photo: Fox Searchlight
Ms. King is played with what might be called pluck by the ordinarily effervescent Emma Stone. She, like everyone involved with this film, has a specific challenge on her hands: Transform a woman who is essentially living her life undercover into an inspiring champion of women’s rights, transparency and fair play. The story, naturally, leans the other way, and the pacing doesn’t help: The build-up to Ms. King’s seduction by her hairdresser, Marilyn Barnett ( Andrea Riseborough ), takes so long you want to yell, “Just do it already!” Eventually, they do.
A different problem is presented by Riggs, the ex-champ and tennis hustler for whom obnoxiousness was a marketing tool and who was in thrall to a gambling jones that threatened his marriage and, maybe, his person. (Rumors that he threw the match to Ms. King because of mob debts have long persisted, despite making very little sense, except as a lame excuse for his three-set trouncing.) Not surprisingly, directors Faris and Dayton and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy (“Slumdog Millionaire”) skew matters toward a more likable Riggs, even a quasi-tragic one, and they have the priceless asset of Steve Carell playing the role. It deserves to be said that Mr. Carell is both a bona-fide movie star and a marvelous actor, two things that don’t always go together. Rarer still is his willingness to embrace unsympathetic roles into which he simply disappears—the homicidal John du Pont in “Foxcatcher” comes immediately to mind. Watching him play the bratty Riggs evokes something very close to love.
Steve Carell and Emma Stone Photo: Fox Searchlight
The principals get more or less equal time en route to Houston, but Riggs is, marginally, the more poignant character. A late scene with his son Larry (an affecting Lewis Pullman ) is a heartbreaking moment of sudden self-awareness: The boy, moments before the King match, declines to attend, and the look on Riggs’s face is one of stunned recognition—the son is embarrassed by the father.
But Mr. Carell isn’t the only one bringing his A game to “Battle of the Sexes.” Bill Pullman is charmingly oleaginous as Jack Kramer, the head of what was then the U.S. National Lawn Tennis Association, who kicks Ms. King and her players out after they form the Women’s Tennis Association; it’s fascinating to watch Mr. Pullman’s Kramer lean ever so slightly off-center when Ms. King gets him on the rhetorical ropes. Elisabeth Shue is nothing short of regal as Riggs’s wife, Priscilla, whose family money kept Riggs both well-maintained and bored, and whose attempts to get her boy-man husband to attend Gamblers Anonymous meetings are purely quixotic. (“You’re not here because you’re gamblers,” Riggs bellows at his fellow addicts. “You’re here because you’re terrible gamblers!!” So much for 12-step programs.)
Emma Stone Photo: Fox Searchlight
Sarah Silverman, as the Eve Arden-esque Gladys Heldman, and Alan Cumming, as tennis-dress designer Teddy Tinling, steal every scene they’re in. And Ms. Riseborough, whose Marilyn rouses Ms. King’s inner lesbian, makes Ms. Barnett a seductively winsome muse. The pair’s future palimony suit goes unmentioned for obvious dramatic reasons, including the fact that Ms. King would end up losing all her endorsements and incurring huge legal costs at the time her sexuality actually went public. The movie would much prefer us to believe the world was changed by a tennis match.
—Mr. Anderson writes on TV for the Journal. Joe Morgenstern is away.
Appeared in the September 22, 2017, print edition as 'With Ace Actors, but Not Without Its Faults.' ||||| Battle of the Sexes
type Movie genre Sports, Drama release date 09/22/17 performer Steve Carell, Emma Stone director Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton Current Status In Season mpaa PG-13
We gave it a B+
She’s 29, a world-class athlete at the top of her game. He’s a hard-living 55 whose Wimbledon days are decades behind him and whose favorite form of cardio is running his mouth. But the now-iconic 1973 face-off between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs was never really about the tennis; it was a litmus test for the era, a flashpoint where social politics, sport, and celebrity met on the court before an estimated 90 million television viewers.
Emma Stone, in librarian wire-rims and a chocolate brown shag, plays the public King as an undauntable renegade — she fights fiercely to hold on to her No. 1 ranking, and effectively invents the Women’s Tennis Association when the regular league refuses to raise the ladies’ $1,500 championship prize to match the men’s $12,000. But in private she’s racked with self-doubt. And when a swinging L.A. hairdresser named Marilyn (Bloodline’s Andrea Riseborough) comes into her life, the spark between them threatens to upend not just King’s marriage but everything she’s worked for professionally.
Directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton (Little Miss Sunshine) paint Sexes’ battles in the bright primary colors of the film’s ’70s setting, soundtracking it all to groovy AM-radio gold and sanding down the ragged edges of Riggs’ noxious misogyny. In Steve Carell’s amiable hands, Bobby’s antics — he’s an incurable gambler and huckster, proud to be “putting the show back in chauvinism” — are more clownish than offensive, a goofy cultural dinosaur with the vintage yellowed veneers to match. Though this is Stone and Carell’s second time on screen together, after 2011’s Crazy Stupid Love, they actually share only a scant handful of scenes. But their separation opens up the story to a raft of splashy supporting turns, including Alan Cumming as the WTA’s droll wardrobe designer, Elisabeth Shue as Riggs’ long-suffering wife, Sarah Silverman as King’s chain-smoking go-go agent, and Fred Armisen as a shark-eyed Dr. Feelgood in a white leisure suit, handing out horse pills like Skittles. And though it’s obvious that Billie Jean’s real romance is with the dreamy, golden-haired Marilyn, Austin Stowell brings quiet pathos to Larry — the man cast more as caretaker, cheerleader, and perpetual plus-one than husband. (When he tells Marilyn that they’ll both place distant seconds in the end to his wife’s first love, tennis, it’s with resignation, not bitterness.)
As Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire screenwriter Simon Beaufoy builds to the titular showdown, it hardly matters that the match itself doesn’t look like much. The symbolic power of what happened there — one small step, one giant leap for womankind — is still the movie’s truest ace. B+ ||||| Look anywhere around you, and it’s obvious: Sexism sells. In 1973, tennis hall of famer Bobby Riggs exploited that fact to goad Billie Jean King into competing in a match he billed “The Battle of the Sexes.”
Riggs knew which buttons to push to get a whopping 90 million viewers to tune into the game. “She doesn’t stand a chance against me,” Riggs told one journalist. “Women’s tennis is so far beneath men’s tennis.” For the cheap seats, he bragged, “I want to prove that women are lousy, they stink, and they don’t belong on the same court as a man.”
Played by a sideburned and snaggle-toothed Steve Carrell in “Battle of the Sexes,” Bobby comes off as an ass and a clown but, importantly, never a buffoon. Most of us will go into Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris’ biopic of King with the knowledge that the female sports pioneer will trounce her showboating opponent. But it matters that Billie Jean (Emma Stone) squares off against a worthy adversary; there’s nothing impressive about being smarter than a caveman. Handsome and moving if a bit cautious, “Battle” is full of smart complexities and sensational acting, and it deserves to be considered a serious awards contender.
Watch Video: 'Battle of the Sexes' First Trailer: Emma Stone, Steve Carell 'Put the Show Back in Chauvinism'
There was nothing fair, whatever that means in this case, about the Battle of the Sexes: Riggs was 55 and had retired from the main circuit years ago; the 29-year-old King was the reigning champion of women’s tennis but also saddled with the burden of “justifying” female professional athletics, if not the entire Second Wave of feminism, to the world.
At the drama’s outset, Billie Jean and her sardonic, skunk-streaked business partner Gladys (a career-best Sarah Silverman) form their own championship tour when the female players are offered an eighth of the prize money that male athletes get. Writer Simon Beaufoy (“Slumdog Millionaire”) weaves the story of Billie Jean’s fight for gender equality with that of her sexual coming of age.
Billie Jean’s eyes fall just before joining her husband Larry (a terrific Austin Stowell, “Bridge of Spies”) in a dance. But when the athlete meets liberated hairdresser Marilyn (Andrea Riseborough), she can’t stop looking. The scenes of blossoming eroticism, as Marilyn cuts Billie Jean’s tresses and gives the tennis star a new way of seeing herself, forge a new dialect of sensuality.
Watch Video: 'Battle of the Sexes' Filmmakers on Why Billie Jean King-Bobby Riggs Showdown Is Still Relevant
Stone gives a much more compelling and subtle performance here than she did in “La La Land,” for which she won the Best Actress Oscar earlier this year. Dayton and Faris, whose previous films include “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Ruby Sparks,” accomplish via their close-ups of Stone what Todd Haynes’ “Carol” could not: a thrumming, throbbing period romance conveyed through a series of gazes. It helps that, other than on the court, the only place where we see Billie Jean exploit her physical grace is in the lonely hotel rooms where the athlete and hair stylist discover one another.
If “Battle” betrays its subject anywhere, it’s in the meekness of the characterization of King. Hardly anywhere in sight is the ambition and hyper-competitiveness that it takes to become a record-breaking champion. (Serena Williams is still routinely pilloried for exhibiting such “unfeminine” traits today.) In a climactic scene, when Billie Jean sets the record straight about what message she wants to send with the Battle of the Sexes, she merely states, “We deserve some respect.” (Just some?)
And when Bobby suggests that their match pit “Male Chauvinist Pig [against] Hairy-Legged Feminist,” Billie Jean shoots back that she does shave her legs before hanging up on him. Women can do anything, the film implies, as long as they stay within the box of Hollywood’s standards for female likability.
Also Read: Fall Festivals Say It Loud: Here Comes Awards Season
Unsurprisingly, then, Carrell nearly steals the picture as a man who’s so busy hustling for a second chance that he doesn’t realize his life is actually a tragedy. The domestic scenes in which the aging gambler chafes against his wealthy wife’s (a superb Elisabeth Shue) aloof disapproval make up some of the film’s most heartfelt moments. When the huckster starts believing his own hype, everything goes downhill. (“Battle” discards the latter-day theory that an indebted Riggs threw the game after betting large on King.)
Gleaming among the large supporting cast are Bill Pullman as a vindictive announcer, Alan Cumming as Billie Jean’s mentor to LGBTQ reality in the early ’70s, and Jessica McNamee (“CHIPS”) as rival tennis star Margaret Court.
“Battle” builds gradually to the big event, which, thanks in part to Riggs’ showmanship, becomes something of a circus, replete with farm animals, palanquins manned by gladiators, and a wedding ceremony. (If Riggs wins, the bride will take the groom’s name, and vice versa.) The actual match is surprisingly tense, if disappointingly shot mostly aerially.
What’s at stake — in a clash that feels particularly resonant in 2017 — is the one between the past and the future. In these divisive times, “Battle of the Sexes” allows us all to cheer for the right side of history.
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– Battle of the Sexes takes viewers back to 1973 and the Houston Astrodome, the setting of the famous exhibition tennis match between feminist icon Billie Jean King (Emma Stone), then 29, and chauvinist Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell), then 55. As viewers learn, the game wasn't the only thing at stake for King. Here's what critics are saying: Battle of the Sexes is not only "almost remedial in its timeliness, given last year's political grudge match," but it's "warm, earnestly entertaining" and "a pleasure to watch," writes Ann Hornaday at Washington Post. Directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton bring the 1970s to life "with verve and humor," helped by "gifted comic actors in supporting turns that crackle with winking good fun," she adds. Sarah Silverman, in particular, stands out. Stone plays King as "an undauntable renegade" in public but "racked with self-doubt" in private, while Carell's chauvinistic Riggs is "more clownish than offensive," writes Leah Greenblatt at Entertainment Weekly. The pair hardly ever meet except for their famous match, which doesn't really wow. But that "hardly matters," writes Greenblatt. "The symbolic power of what happened there—one small step, one giant leap for womankind—is still the movie's truest ace." Supporting actors Silverman and Alan Cumming "steal every scene they're in." But it's Carell who brings his "A game" so that Riggs emerges as "marginally, the more poignant character," according to John Anderson at the Wall Street Journal. "Carell is both a bona-fide movie star and a marvelous actor, two things that don't always go together" and "watching him play the bratty Riggs evokes something very close to love," he writes. Inkoo Kang at the Wrap agrees Carell shines, but she attributes this to "the meekness of the characterization of King. Hardly anywhere in sight is the ambition and hyper-competitiveness that it takes to become a record-breaking champion." But though "subtle," Stone's performance is still "compelling," and the film is "handsome and moving" and "full of smart complexities" that should make it "a serious awards contender," Kang writes.
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Part gritty cop drama. Part superhero comic. The graphic novel Powers by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming seemed destined for a live-action adaptation from the moment issues first hit stands. After an entire television pilot was made for and scrapped by the FX channel in 2011, however, there was a chance that this might never happen. Now, it looks to be that the live-action Powers will finally take to the streets.
According to Deadline, Powers is being developed by Sony Pictures TV as an exclusive series for the growing PlayStation Network video service. The TV series will take the form of a live-action, hour-long show, with approximately 10 episodes in the first season. Charlie Huston is the scriptwriter on the new Powers pilot, and former Falling Skies head writer Remi Aubuchon also is on board to share showrunner duties with Huston. Original comic book creators Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming are included as executive producers.
Written by Bendis with art by Oeming, Powers is an award-winning comic that has been running through various iterations since 2000. The comic mashes up cop drama with superpowers, as two Chicago Homicide detectives try to maintain order in a world where powered heroes and villains exist. Their beat is costumed crime -- they investigate the suspicious deaths of those with special abilities. Powers is a dark story once described by FX's President as "...in the model of David Fincher's Seven and Zodiac or The Shield. It's a really gritty, edgy, very real cop show. It also happens to have superhero elements in it, but not front and center – they're around the margins and the back of it."
A pilot episode of Powers was produced for FX in 2011, starring Jason Patric and Lucy Punch. It did not lead to an order for more episodes, and the pilot was never released to the public. Actors from that pilot episode have since been released from the production, and this new version of Powers will likely feature a new cast.
Despite passing on the first version of the show, FX continued to stress that Powers was alive and an important project for the company. Much like The Walking Dead was a comic book that meshed perfectly with the AMC style of storytelling when it was adapted for TV, Powers was being created for television as a show to fit in with FX's own original programs such as Sons of Anarchy and The Americans. It was while Powers was still with FX that Charlie Huston (known for his work on Moon Knight) came aboard; Huston is now said to be leading this PlayStation Network version of the show.
Over the years, IGN has made it a personal mission to ask studio heads about plans for the Powers TV show at every major industry event. Here's what FX’s president John Landgraf had to say in IGN's 2013 interview about Powers:
"We’ve been through so many incarnations. After we made the pilot, we actually developed three more [episode] scripts. So then we had a pilot plus three scripts, and we decided between the pilot and the scripts that it wasn’t quite the series that we needed it to be. When I say we, by the way, Brian Bendis is involved in every phase of this conversation and discussion. But one of the scripts was written by this guy named Charlie Huston, and he was a novelist. Both I and Brian and others thought, “Wow, there is actually something in the tone of this.” So Charlie was approached, I think by Brian, and said, “Look, would you be interested in taking on Powers?” And Charlie said, “Well, I’ve never actually adapted anything before in my life. I have only written novels and stuff of my own, but Powers is my favorite graphic novel, and yes!”
So what ended up happening was we reconstituted the whole thing around Charlie as the creator, with Brian. Charlie went up to Seattle, and they sat down and they talked, and read through all the books, and they came back with a new vision, basically. Essentially, a new pilot to begin with, which is a new, different story than the pilot that we shot. So that pilot is officially gone and dead, and the actors are all gone, but we’re developing a whole new pilot from scratch."
Sony is eager to gain a foothold in the streaming video market, as services such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu are quickly defining what the future of television watching will be for the next generation of cord-cutters. The company became a pioneer in producing original content available only via streaming when the anime Xam'd debuted exclusively on PSN in 2008. The video game reality show The Tester also was made exclusively for PlayStation Network and ran for three seasons. Not to be outdone, rival Microsoft also has exclusive programming in the works, with a Halo TV show for Xbox produced by Steven Spielberg leading as its flagship original series. ||||| Sony’s PlayStation video game console is the latest digital platform to enter the original programming space. Its first show will be hourlong drama Powers, based on the graphic novel by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming. The series will be produced by PlayStation sibling Sony Pictures TV, where the project had been gestating for awhile and went through several incarnation at FX, including a pilot. Powers for PlayStation represents a brand new take on the source material, penned by Charlie Huston. Returning auspices include Circle of Confusion as well as Bendis, Oeming and Michael Dinner who will executive produce with Huston and Remi Aubuchon (Falling Skies), along with Circle of Confusion’s David Engel, David Alpert and Lawrence Mattis. Huston and Aubuchon will serve as showrunners. Combining the genres of superhero fantasy, crime noir and police procedural, Powers, whose order is said to be around 10 episodes, is set in a world full of people with superhuman abilities and where all of those powers are just another catalyst for mayhem and murder. The series follows Detective Christian Walker, who is in charge of protecting humans like us and investigating cases involving the God-like men and women, referred to as “powers,” who glide through the sky on lightning bolts and fire and who clash above cities in epic battle, oblivious to the mortals below. No start date is set yet for the series, which is expected to be of premium cable quality. SPT will sell internationally. The studio already has experience producing for digital platforms — it has a 13-episode order from Netflix for a drama series from the Damages creators.
PlayStation joins rival, Microsoft’s XBox, which announced Halo as its first original scripted series a year ago though the project doesn’t have a green light yet.
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
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– Move over Netflix; there's yet another new player in the online original TV programming arena. Sony has picked up the rights to Powers, a comic about homicide detectives who investigate cases involving superheroes, and intends to turn it into a live-action drama for its PlayStation Network, Deadline reports. The show will be produced by Sony Pictures Television. The company hasn't said whether users will pay for the show individually, or as part of a larger service. Sony is working on a pay-TV service that will offer traditional channels over the Internet, but the move is independent of that effort, the Wall Street Journal reports. Powers has been in development as a series for FX for years; a pilot was produced in 2011, but the network passed. IGN expects to see a new cast, because the original actors were released from their contracts. Sony's CEO says the company picked the show because "it overlays extremely well with the demographics of the PlayStation."
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FILE - This publicity film image released by DreamWorks and Twentieth Century Fox shows Daniel Day-Lewis portraying Abraham Lincoln in the film "Lincoln." Best-picture prospects for Oscar Nominations... (Associated Press)
1. Best Picture: "Amour," "Argo," "Beasts of the Southern Wild," "Django Unchained," "Les Miserables," "Life of Pi," "Lincoln," "Silver Linings Playbook," "Zero Dark Thirty."
2. Actor: Bradley Cooper, "Silver Linings Playbook"; Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"; Hugh Jackman, "Les Miserables"; Joaquin Phoenix, "The Master"; Denzel Washington, "Flight."
3. Actress: Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty"; Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"; Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour"; Quvenzhane Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"; Naomi Watts, "The Impossible."
4. Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, "Argo"; Robert De Niro, "Silver Linings Playbook"; Philip Seymour Hoffman, "The Master"; Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln"; Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained."
5. Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, "The Master"; Sally Field, "Lincoln"; Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables"; Helen Hunt, "The Sessions"; Jacki Weaver, "Silver Linings Playbook."
6. Directing: Michael Haneke, "Amour"; Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"; Ang Lee, "Life of Pi"; Steven Spielberg, "Lincoln"; David O. Russell, "Silver Linings Playbook."
7. Foreign Language Film: "Amour," Austria; "Kon-Tiki," Norway; "No," Chile; "A Royal Affair," Denmark; "War Witch," Canada.
8. Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio, "Argo"; Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"; David Magee, "Life of Pi"; Tony Kushner, "Lincoln"; David O. Russell, "Silver Linings Playbook."
9. Original Screenplay: Michael Haneke, "Amour"; Quentin Tarantino, "Django Unchained"; John Gatins, "Flight"; Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, "Moonrise Kingdom"; Mark Boal, "Zero Dark Thirty."
10. Animated Feature Film: "Brave"; "Frankenweenie"; "ParaNorman"; "The Pirates! Band of Misfits"; "Wreck-It Ralph."
11. Production Design: "Anna Karenina," "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," "Les Miserables," "Life of Pi," "Lincoln."
12. Cinematography: "Anna Karenina," "Django Unchained," "Life of Pi," "Lincoln," "Skyfall."
13. Sound Mixing: "Argo," "Les Miserables," "Life of Pi," "Lincoln," "Skyfall."
14. Sound Editing: "Argo," "Django Unchained," "Life of Pi," "Skyfall," "Zero Dark Thirty."
15. Original Score: "Anna Karenina," Dario Marianelli; "Argo," Alexandre Desplat; "Life of Pi," Mychael Danna; "Lincoln," John Williams; "Skyfall," Thomas Newman.
16. Original Song: "Before My Time" from "Chasing Ice," J. Ralph; "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" from "Ted," Walter Murphy and Seth MacFarlane; "Pi's Lullaby" from "Life of Pi," Mychael Danna and Bombay Jayashri; "Skyfall" from "Skyfall," Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth; "Suddenly" from "Les Miserables," Claude-Michel Schonberg, Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil.
17. Costume: "Anna Karenina," "Les Miserables," "Lincoln," "Mirror Mirror," "Snow White and the Huntsman."
18. Documentary Feature: "5 Broken Cameras," "The Gatekeepers," "How to Survive a Plague," "The Invisible War," "Searching for Sugar Man."
19. Documentary (short subject): "Inocente," "Kings Point," "Mondays at Racine," "Open Heart," "Redemption."
20. Film Editing: "Argo," "Life of Pi," "Lincoln," "Silver Linings Playbook," "Zero Dark Thirty."
21. Makeup and Hairstyling: "Hitchcock," "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," "Les Miserables."
22. Animated Short Film: "Adam and Dog," "Fresh Guacamole," "Head over Heels," "Maggie Simpson in `The Longest Daycare,'" "Paperman."
23. Live Action Short Film: "Asad," "Buzkashi Boys," "Curfew," "Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)," "Henry."
24. Visual Effects: "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," "Life of Pi," "Marvel's The Avengers," "Prometheus," "Snow White and the Huntsman." ||||| The Civil War saga "Lincoln" leads the Academy Awards with 12 nominations, including best picture, director for Steven Spielberg and acting honors for Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones.
FILE - This undated publicity film image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Bryan Cranston, left, as Jack OíDonnell and Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez in "Argo," a rescue thriller about the 1979 Iranian... (Associated Press)
In this undated publicity photo released by Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Jessica Chastain, center, plays a member of the elite team of spies and military operatives, stationed in a covert base... (Associated Press)
FILE - This publicity film image released by DreamWorks and Twentieth Century Fox shows Daniel Day-Lewis portraying Abraham Lincoln in the film "Lincoln." Best-picture prospects for Oscar Nominations... (Associated Press)
FILE - This Jan. 7, 2013 file photo released by Starpix shows actor Daniel Day Lewis from "Lincoln," at the New York Film Critics Circle awards dinner at the Crimson Club in New York. Lewis was nominated... (Associated Press)
FILE - This publicity film image released by Universal Pictures shows Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean holding Isabelle Allen as Young Cosette in a scene from "Les Miserables." Best-picture prospects for... (Associated Press)
This publicity film image released by 20th Century Fox shows Suraj Sharma in a scene from "Life of Pi," directed by Ang Lee. Best-picture prospects for Oscar Nominations on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013, include,... (Associated Press)
Also among the nine nominees for best picture Thursday: the old-age love story "Amour"; the Iran hostage thriller "Argo"; the independent hit "Beasts of the Southern Wild"; the slave-revenge narrative "Django Unchained"; the musical "Les Miserables"; the shipwreck story "Life of Pi"; the lost-souls romance "Silver Linings Playbook"; and the Osama bin Laden manhunt chronicle "Zero Dark Thirty."
"Life of Pi" surprisingly ran second with 11 nominations, ahead of "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Les Miserables," which had both been considered potential front-runners.
More surprising were snubs in the directing category, where three favorites missed out: Ben Affleck for "Argo" and past Oscar winners Kathryn Bigelow for "Zero Dark Thirty" and Tom Hooper for "Les Miserables."
Two-time winner Spielberg earned his seventh directing nomination, and also in the mix are past winner Ang Lee for "Life of Pi" and past nominee David O. Russell for "Silver Linings Playbook." The other slots went to surprise picks who are first-time nominees: Michael Haneke for "Amour" and Benh Zeitlin for "Beasts of the Southern Wild."
Chronicling Abraham Lincoln's final months as he engineers passage of the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, "Lincoln" stars best-actor contender Day-Lewis in a monumental performance as the 16th president, supporting-actress nominee Field as the notoriously headstrong Mary Todd Lincoln and supporting-actor prospect Jones as abolitionist firebrand Thaddeus Stevens.
Joining Day-Lewis in the best-actor field are Bradley Cooper as a psychiatric patient trying to get his life back together in "Silver Linings Playbook"; Hugh Jackman as Victor Hugo's tragic hero Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables"; Joaquin Phoenix as a Navy vet who falls in with a cult in "The Master"; and Denzel Washington as a boozy airline pilot in "Flight."
Nominated for best actress are Jessica Chastain as a CIA operative hunting bin Laden in "Zero Dark Thirty"; Jennifer Lawrence as a troubled young widow struggling to heal in "Silver Linings Playbook"; Emmanuelle Riva as an ailing woman tended by her husband in "Amour"; Quvenzhane Wallis as a spirited girl on the Louisiana delta in "Beasts of the Southern Wild"; and Naomi Watts as a mother caught up in a devastating tsunami in "The Impossible."
Along with Field, supporting-actress nominees are Amy Adams as a cult leader's devoted wife in "The Master"; Anne Hathaway as an outcast mother reduced to prostitution in "Les Miserables"; Helen Hunt as a sex surrogate in "The Sessions"; and Jacki Weaver as an unstable man's doting mom in "Silver Linings Playbook."
Besides Jones, the supporting-actor contenders are Alan Arkin as a wily Hollywood producer in "Argo"; Robert De Niro as a football-obsessed patriarch in "Silver Linings Playbook"; Philip Seymour Hoffman as a dynamic cult leader in "The Master"; and Christoph Waltz as a genteel bounty hunter in "Django Unchained."
The Oscars feature a best-picture field that ranges from five to 10 films depending on a complex formula of ballots from the 5,856 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Winners for the 85th Oscars will be announced Feb. 24 at a ceremony aired live on ABC from Hollywood's Dolby Theatre.
"Family Guy" creator and vocal star Seth MacFarlane _ a versatile performer whose work includes directing and voicing for the title character of last summer's hit "Ted" and a Frank Sinatra-style album of standards _ is the Oscar host.
Thursday's nominees were announced by "The Amazing Spider-Man" star Emma Stone and MacFarlane, the first time that an Oscar show host has joined in the preliminary announcement since 1972, when Charlton Heston participated on nominations day.
MacFarlane also got his own nod for writing the lyrics to "Everybody Needs A Best Friend" from his movie "Ted."
"That's kind of cool I got nominated," MacFarlane deadpanned. "I get to go to the Oscars."
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Online:
http://www.oscars.org ||||| Award season got off to a good start with the 2013 People's Choice Awards in LA on Wednesday night. The show was full of big wins, plus plenty of laughs from host Kaley Cuoco and some of her celebrity pals. Jennifer Aniston won favorite comedic movie actress, while Jennifer Lawrence took home favorite dramatic movie actress for The Hunger Games, and the film itself picked up best movie and favorite action movie. The Wanted surprisingly beat out One Direction and Carly Rae Jepsen for favorite breakout artist, and Sandra Bullock was honored for her humanitarian work in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Sandra teared up while receiving her award, mentioning that the number one reason she loves NOLA is because of "a little sick boy at home who is my man," referring to her son Louis. There were many more statues handed out, so make sure to check out all the People's Choice Award winners.
Other notable moments from the award show included Happy Endings star Carly Wilson claiming Ian Somerhalder as her boyfriend, Adam Sandler inviting the audience over to Jennifer Aniston's house for pizza, and Jennifer Lawrence declaring that she wishes she was in Mean Girls so she could break her award and hand pieces out to everyone in the audience. There were also performances by Alicia Keys, Jason Aldean, and Christina Aguilera. Don't forget to take a look at the 2013 PCAs red carpet arrivals, and be sure to vote for your favorite fashion in our PCA polls. ||||| Seth MacFarlane and Emma Stone reveal the 2013 Oscar nominations Thursday at 8:35 a.m. ET.
Oscar statuettes. (Photo: Don Emmert, AFP/Getty Images)
Watch live as this year's Oscar host Seth MacFarlane and actress Emma Stone announce the nominations for the 85th Academy Awards Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET/5:30 a.m. PT from the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
The announcement marks the first time since 1972 that an Oscar show host has participated in the nominations announcement (that year Charlton Heston did the double duty), USA TODAY's Bryan Alexander reports.
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– Lincoln ruled at this morning's Academy Award nominations announcement, scoring nods in the Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay categories. In all, the Steven Spielberg drama leads with 12 nominations, the AP reports. Eight other Best Picture nominees were chosen: Life of Pi (which came in second with 11 nominations), Beasts of the Southern Wild, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty, Les Miserables, Amour, Django Unchained, and Argo. At least three notable names were missing from the Best Director category: Ben Affleck for Argo, Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty, and Tom Hooper for Les Miserables. All three had been nominated for DGA Awards. Click for the complete list of nominees. Seth MacFarlane helped announce this year's nominees, marking the first time since 1972 that an Oscar host has done so, USA Today reports. He joked that the 5:30am Pacific live announcements should be held at noon, since the only people awake at this hour "are either flying or having surgery." But he's probably glad he showed up, since he himself was nominated in the Best Original Song category for Ted. The Oscars air Feb. 24 at 7pm Eastern on ABC. In other awards show news, click to see highlights from last night's People's Choice Awards.
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Alex Landis, 16, wears a t-shirt showing her support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, as she enters the Redding Municipal Airport for a campaign rally, Friday, June 3, 2016, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) (Associated Press)
Alex Landis, 16, wears a t-shirt showing her support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, as she enters the Redding Municipal Airport for a campaign rally, Friday, June 3, 2016, in Redding,... (Associated Press) ||||| Andreas Fuhrmann/Record Searchlight
Gregory Cheadle, right, was singled out by Donald Trump during his visit to Redding on Friday as "my African-American over there."
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By Nathan Solis of the Redding Record Searchlight
The recognition Gregory Cheadle received from Donald Trump felt good, considering he was singled out at a rally of about 4,000 people at Redding Municipal Airport on Friday. But the fallout after Trump said, "Oh, look at my African-American over here," has left Cheadle feeling dumbfounded.
And not because he was offended, but because of how the country has perceived his reaction.
Cheadle, the Happy Valley resident and Republican candidate running for the 1st Congressional District said after the rally he made his way back to his car and no one stopped to ask him if he was offended by Trump's comment.
Then his phone began to ring and he went online to see what was being said.
"At the time I couldn't possibly see how this became a story. I think that there is an element of [the media] wanting me to be upset over it. I was not. I know the context that the statement was made. Right now it's race baiting and it's working to get people upset," said Cheadle.
The context: an anecdote Trump shared with supporters at Redding Municipal Airport on Friday of a violent exchange between an African-American supporter and someone wearing a traditional Ku Klux Klan hood at another rally.
The comment has caused much criticism of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Cheadle said the comments he has seen on the internet have been far worse compared to Trump's choice of words at the Redding rally.
"The comments I see about me on social media are far more hate filled and racist than what Mr. Trump could have been construed as saying at the rally," said Cheadle, who does not see the issue going away anytime soon.
On Friday, Cheadle arrived at the airport at 7 a.m. He had his own campaign signs for his race and he wanted to be close to the front row at the rally. Cheadle wore a tie, suit and addressed voters on the issues he wants to address as a challenger to incumbent Doug LaMalfa in the 1st Congressional District.
Despite his name being on the tongues on political pundits on TV and online, Cheadle has not received any type of Trump bump or any type of outpouring of donations since the rally.
Instead, Cheadle has been held up as an example of Trump's troubled relations with African-Americans throughout the country.
But Cheadle does not see himself as an apologist for Trump and doesn't even know if he will be voting for the presidential candidate.
"I don't like the racist policies of Hillary Clinton. I think Bernie Sanders has a good message, but he fails in his execution. And I don't know anything about Donald Trump. I don't know how he's going to relate to the elderly, the poor and the disabled. Those are the people I'm concerned about," said Cheadle who has positioned himself as an 1856 Republican.
There was no immediate response from Trump's camp as of Sunday afternoon.
The backlash has not soured Cheadle's outlook. He knows how he's going to internalize the recognition from Trump, despite what the rest of the country is expecting him to feel.
"I'm confident in who I am. Fortunately I'm a strong black man who thinks and does the things that I think are important," Cheadle said. "I know I don't belong to anyone. I refuse to stay on anyone's plantations. We need to be able to have the freedom to be able to do what we want to do. Black people have been forced to think and act a certain way for a long time."
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– Donald Trump lauded a man he called "my African-American" at a California rally on Friday, and that man, Gregory Cheadle, came out almost immediately to say he hadn't been bothered by the reference and was even "happy" about it. Yet that doesn't mean the Republican, who's running for a seat in his state's 1st Congressional District, is an unwavering Trump fan. NPR reports that when Cheadle was spotted by Trump at the rally, he was using a sign to block the sun—and that sign happened to read "Veterans for Trump." But "I am not a Trump supporter," he tells NPR, noting he hasn't decided who to vote for yet and that "I went to go hear Donald Trump because I have an open mind." He says that he's "a free man. ... I refuse to be chained to any particular party," adding to the Redding Record Searchlight: "I refuse to stay on anyone's plantations." He explains to the Record Searchlight that "I don't like the racist policies of Hillary Clinton; I think Bernie Sanders has a good message, but he fails in his execution; and I don't know anything about Donald Trump." Cheadle reiterates that even though his mind hasn't been made up about where his vote will be cast, he still wasn't offended by Trump's rally remarks. "He had been speaking positively about black people prior to that statement," he tells NPR. "Everybody was happy. It was a jovial thing." He parses Trump's word choice as well, noting that Trump could've avoided the "ambiguity" of his phrasing had he simply said "my African-American friend" or "supporter"—though he adds that had Trump followed up his statement with "'what's up, dawg' or 'boy' or even the n-word as they use it today, I really would have been offended."
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A Kentucky man credits a state revenue employee with saving his life when he had a heart attack during a phone call about his income tax bill. The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that Earl Phillips was talking with state employee Natalie Brown on May 26 when she noticed that he was breathing heavily and seemed ill.
Phillips said Friday that he didn't want to tell a complete stranger that he needed help, but she verified his address and then called emergency responders.
He was later transferred to a Louisville hospital, where doctors put a stent in his heart. He had a 90 percent blockage in one of his arteries.
Gov. Steve Beshear praised Brown's dedication Friday.
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Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com ||||| When Phillips called the state Department of Revenue last month to get answers about his state income tax bill, the faceless Frankfort bureaucrat who called him back saved his life.
But in the case of Earl Phillips, taxes may have helped save the Adair County man's life.
FRANKFORT — They say death and taxes are inevitable.
Now Phillips thinks Department of Revenue employee Natalie Brown — who dialed 911 when Phillips had a heart attack during that May 26th phone call — should receive more than a simple thank you.
"I'm very proud of that lady," Phillips said. "She saved my life. As far as I'm concerned, there is no end to what she deserves."
Phillips, an Adair County construction worker, received a tax notice in late May with Brown's name and phone number
When Brown returned the call he'd placed, she noticed that Phillips, 60, seemed out of sorts.
"I noticed he was breathing really heavily," Brown said Friday. "I could tell something was wrong."
Brown, 23, asked Phillips if he was OK. But Phillips told Brown he wasn't sure what was wrong.
Phillips said Friday he didn't want to tell a complete stranger on the sixth floor of a Frankfort office building hundreds of miles away that he needed help. He had never really been sick before and had no history of heart problems, he said. He was hoping that whatever was wrong with him would pass.
It didn't.
"I didn't know what to say to her," Phillips said. "At the same time, I did need help."
Phillips' breathing seemed to get worse as minutes ticked by, Brown said.
So Brown verified she had the correct address for Phillips — which was on his tax forms — and called Adair County 911.
Shortly after that, emergency crews arrived and took Phillips, who was home alone, to a local hospital. He was later transferred to a Louisville hospital, where doctors put a stent, or tube, in his heart. He had a 90 percent blockage in one of his arteries, Phillips said.
Brown, meanwhile, spent the next several days worried about Phillips. She left a message on his phone.
About a week later, Phillips called Brown to thank her and tell her that he was OK.
Phillips said Friday he is now on medication, and feels much better. But he still can't believe Brown didn't hang up on him.
"Ninety percent of people nowadays would have left me on my own," Phillips said.
But Brown also credits a bit of serendipity with saving Phillips' life.
Phillips had originally called on May 25.
Brown, who usually keeps all of her contacts and phone messages in one notebook, accidentally put Phillips' number on a different piece of paper. It wasn't until May 26 — the day of Phillips' heart attack — that she returned his phone call.
Brown's boss, Bruce Nix, the Director of Individual Income Tax for the Department of Revenue, said this is the first time in his 21 years with the department of revenue that he can recall that a revenue employee may have saved the life of a taxpayer.
Brown, a Frankfort native, started working for the department in August 2009, just a few months after graduating from Morehead State University. Brown said Friday that she loves her job and she truly believes that state employees are there to help the public.
"We will help you any way that we can, even if it's calling 911," Brown said. "I feel like it was fate that I happened to lose (Phillips' phone number) and I'm glad that I found it when I did."
Gov. Steve Beshear praised Brown's dedication Friday.
"I have always said that our state employees are an excellent, hard-working group, and Natalie proves it," Beshear said. "I offer her my thanks and congratulations for a job truly well done."
Oh, and did Phillips ever get that tax question answered?
"Yes, I did," Phillips said Friday.
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– Few people welcome phone calls from government bean-counters, but for one 60-year-old Kentucky man, that call turned out to be a lifesaver. Department of Revenue employee Natalie Brown, who had called Earl Phillips with a question about his income tax bill, verified his address and called 911 after noticing that he was breathing heavily and sounded ill, the AP reports. Turns out he was having a heart attack; doctors found a 90% blockage in one of his arteries. Phillips, who had no history of heart trouble, says he started feeling ill during the call but didn't want to tell a total stranger that he needed help. "I'm very proud of that lady," Phillips told the Lexington Herald-Leader. "She saved my life." Brown—whose boss can't recall another instance of a tax worker saving somebody's life—says she believes state employees are there to help the public anyway they can.
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The Cranberries frontwoman Dolores O'Riordan drowned in a hotel bath wearing her pyjamas, an inquest at Westminster Coroner's Court heard.
The Irish singer, from Kilmallock, County Limerick, was pronounced dead aged 46 on January 15 at the Hilton Hotel in Park Lane, London, where she had been staying while recording.
Coroner Shirley Radcliffe told an inquest at Westminster Coroner's Court that the cause of death was drowning due to alcohol intoxication and concluded that the death was an accident.
PC Natalie Smart, who attended the scene, told the inquest: "I saw Mrs O'Riordan submerged in the bath with her nose and mouth fully under the water."
The inquest heard that there were empty bottles in the room - five miniature bottles and a bottle of champagne - as well as containers of prescription drugs with a quantity of tablets in each container.
Toxiclocology tests showed only "therapeutic" amounts of medication in O'Riordan's blood, but showed up 330mg of alcohol per 100mls of blood - meaning she was more than four times the 80mg legal limit for driving. ||||| ‘Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We’ – The 25th Anniversary edition is out on 19th October - https://TheCranberries.lnk.to/EEIDISWCW
Ireland ||||| Image copyright AFP/Getty Images
The Cranberries front woman Dolores O'Riordan died by drowning due to alcohol intoxication, an inquest at Westminster Coroner's Court has heard.
The singer, who died suddenly on 15 January aged 46, was found submerged in the bath in her room at London's Park Lane Hilton hotel.
O'Riordan died as a result of a "tragic accident", the coroner said.
She had no injuries or evidence of self harm, and had drunk an excessive amount of alcohol, expert witnesses said.
She had been in the Park Lane Hilton hotel as part of a recording trip ahead of a 2018 tour.
Image copyright Shutterstock
PC Natalie Smart, who attended the scene, told the inquest: "I saw Mrs O'Riordan submerged in the bath with her nose and mouth fully under the water."
The inquest heard that there were empty bottles in the room - five miniature bottles and a bottle of champagne - as well as containers of prescription drugs with a quantity of tablets in each container.
Toxicology tests showed only "therapeutic" amounts of medication in O'Riordan's blood, but showed up 330mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood - meaning she was more than four times over the 80mg legal limit for driving.
The inquest was attended by O'Riordan's mother, brother and sister-in-law. She split from her husband of 20 years, Don Burton, in 2014.
She and Burton, who is the former tour manager of Duran Duran, have three children together.
Image copyright Island Records Image caption The band's 2017 tour had to be cancelled due to O'Riordan's health issues
The inquest heard that the singer checked into the hotel on 14 January. She was in touch with room service at around midnight and phoned her mother at around 03:00 GMT.
She was later found unresponsive in the bathroom and confirmed dead at 09:16.
The inquest heard that O'Riordan had bipolar disorder but responded well to treatment.
The hearing was also told that she went through periods of abstention and periods of excessive drinking.
She had spoken to psychiatrist Dr Seamus O Ceallaigh on 9 January and was in "good spirits".
The inquest coincided with the day that would have been O'Riordan's 47th birthday.
In a statement issued after the hearing, The Cranberries said: "Dolores will live on eternally in her music."
The band's statement in full:
On January 15th 2018 we lost our dear friend and band mate Dolores O'Riordan.
"Today we continue to struggle to come to terms with what happened.
"Our heartfelt condolences go out to Dolores' children and her family and our thoughts are with them today.
"Dolores will live on eternally in her music. To see how much of a positive impact she had on people's lives has been a source of great comfort to us.
"We'd like to say thank you to all of our fans for the outpouring of messages and their continued support during this very difficult time.
"We request, please, for our privacy to be respected at this time."
During the 90s, the Irish musician led the band to international success and their hit singles including Linger and Zombie.
The band embarked on a UK and European tour in 2017, but it had to be cancelled in May as a result of O'Riordan's health issues.
Image copyright PA Image caption Dolores O'Riordan performing on stage in 1994
The official Cranberries website cited "medical reasons associated with a back problem" that prevented O'Riordan from performing.
But just before Christmas, the singer had posted on Facebook saying she was "feeling good" and had done her "first bit of gigging in months", leading fans to believe she would soon be on tour again.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. ||||| Dolores O’Riordan, the lead singer of the Cranberries, drowned in a bath as a result of intoxication from alcohol, an inquest has found.
The inquest at inner west London coroner’s court, held on what would have been O'Riordan's 47th birthday, heard that she had been drinking heavily before she was found dead in room 2005 of the Hilton hotel in Park Lane, London, at about 9am on 15 January.
Her alcohol level was 330mg per 100ml of blood, more than four times the legal limit for driving. The court heard that she had struggled for many years with bipolar disorder and excessive drinking.
Dolores O'Riordan: anguished star whose voice lingers on Read more
O’Riordan, who had been in London for a recording session, was found by a maid the morning after she checked into the hotel. She was submerged face up in the bath, wearing a long-sleeved vest and pyjama bottoms. When paramedics arrived, police were performing CPR on her in the bathroom. At 9.16am she was declared dead.
Evidence was found of heavy drinking and smoking and use of prescription drugs including lorazepam. Five empty miniatures from the minibar, which had been accessed at 2.10am, were discovered as well as a 35cl bottle of champagne.
A postmortem report by Dr Adam Combe concluded that O’Riordan drowned as a result of alcohol intoxication. Levels of medication in her blood were therapeutic, no note was found and police said after her death that it was not suspicious.
The coroner, Dr Shirley Radcliffe, said: “There’s no evidence that this was anything other than an accident. There was no intention, this seems to be solely a tragic accident.”
The inquest heard that the Irish singer’s bipolar disorder had responded well to treatment. She went through periods of abstention from alcohol but there were also bouts of excessive drinking.
O’Riordan had previously discussed being sexually abused as a child by a family friend and how she suffered from anorexia.
In September last year she began composing a suicide note while drinking heavily and taking lorazepam, but evidence from Robert Hirschfield, a US psychiatrist who assessed her over the phone on 26 December, suggested she had been doing better.
In his statement read at the inquest, Hirschfield said: “She was doing well, she was not drinking, she was a little sad on Christmas Day … no thoughts of suicide.”
Another psychiatrist, Dr Seamus O Ceallaigh, said he spoke to O’Riordan on 9 January and she was in “good spirits”.
O’Riordan’s mother, Eileen, whom she called from her hotel room at 3am on the night of her death, attended the inquest, as well as one of the singer’s brothers, PJ, and a sister-in-law.
Cranberries vocalist Dolores O'Riordan – a life in pictures Read more
In a statement released after the hearing, her bandmates thanked fans for their messages and support. “We continue to struggle to come to terms with what happened,” they said. "Our heartfelt condolences go out to Dolores' children and her family and our thoughts are with them today. Dolores will live on eternally in her music.”
The inquest heard that O’Riordan had a legion of fans who valued her charisma, unique singing voice and feisty on-stage performances. She was described as a loving daughter, fun-loving sister and dedicated and doting mother.
O’Riordan, born in Limerick in 1971, joined the Cranberries – then called the Cranberry Saw Us – in 1990 and performed with them until 2003, when they took a hiatus. They reformed in 2009.
Their hits included Linger, which reached the top 10 in the US and Ireland and No 14 in the UK. At the time of O’Riordan’s death she was in London to record a cover of Zombie, another of the Cranberries’ biggest hits, with the rock band Bad Wolves.
The Irish president, Michael D Higgins, was among those who paid tribute to O'Riordan after her death. She is survived by her three children, Taylor Baxter, Molly Leigh and Dakota Rain, from her 20-year marriage to Don Burton, Duran Duran's tour manager. The couple split up in 2014.
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– The sudden death of Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan in January stunned the world, and a new development may prompt further shock waves. An inquest in the UK took place Thursday on what would have been the performer's 47th birthday, and the court heard that O'Riordan died of drowning on Jan. 15 after becoming intoxicated from a night of heavy drinking, the BBC reports. "There's no evidence that this was anything other than an accident," coroner Shirley Radcliffe said of O'Riordan, who was found submerged in a bathtub in a London hotel by a maid, per the Telegraph. In her room were prescription medication bottles with pills still inside, an empty champagne bottle, and five empty minibar bottles of alcohol. A toxicology analysis deemed there were "therapeutic" amounts of meds in O'Riordan's blood, but mainly a large amount of alcohol—she had a BAC of .33, more than four times the .08 legal limit for driving. There'd been speculation that O'Riordan had killed herself, but although the Guardian reports the inquest revealed O'Riordan had a drinking problem and bipolar disorder (and that she'd even written a suicide note last September after a drinking binge), "there was no intention" this time around, per Radcliffe. A psychiatrist who'd talked with her shortly before her death says O'Riordan "was doing well, she was not drinking, she was a little sad on Christmas Day … no thoughts of suicide." The Cranberries noted the new developments in a statement, tweeting, "We continue to struggle to come to terms with what happened."
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Chris Murphy, who led Democrats in holding floor for more than 14 hours, says deal was struck with Republicans for vote on background checks and terror watchlist
A marathon Democratic filibuster in the wake of the Orlando nightclub massacre came to an end in the US Senate on Thursday morning after Republicans apparently agreed to hold votes on tighter gun control measures.
Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, led the filibuster which lasted for more than 14 hours along with several colleagues. In the early hours of Thursday morning in Washington, Murphy said a deal had been struck with Republican leaders to hold votes on key measures.
Murphy yielded the floor at 2.11am, saying he had won commitments from Republican leaders that they would hold votes on amendments to expand background checks and ban gun sales to suspected terrorists.
Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) I am proud to announce that after 14+ hours on the floor, we will have a vote on closing the terror gap & universal background checks
Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) This is one step. The fight is far from over. But there are millions of voices calling for change. And we cannot stop pushing #Enough
The Connecticut senator had promised at the outset that he would remain on the Senate floor “until we get some signal, some sign that we can come together” on gun control.
As the filibuster continued, updates and messages of support were posted on social media with the hashtags #enough and #holdthefloor.
Murphy evoked the Newtown school shooting in his state in 2012 in a plea that came as the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, said he would meet with the National Rifle Association (NRA) about the terror watchlist and gun purchases.
“For those of us that represent Connecticut, the failure of this body to do anything, anything at all in the face of that continued slaughter isn’t just painful to us, it’s unconscionable,” Murphy said.
“There hasn’t been a debate scheduled on the floor of the Senate,” Murphy said as the filibuster neared an end. “There hasn’t been a debate scheduled in the committees … There are 30,000 people dying” annually in the country, he said.
Murphy called the massive shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando “devastating” for many and said it had been frustrating for people to watch as the Senate “has done absolutely nothing” in response to mass shootings in recent years.
Starting around 11.20am on Wednesday, senator after senator took to the floor of the chamber to argue for legislation. The Wisconsin senator Tammy Baldwin cited a list of multiple homicides in her state in recent years.
Murphy began speaking at 11.21am and was still standing more than 10 hours later, showing few signs of fatigue. By Senate rules he had to stand at his desk to maintain control of the floor. When asked by another senator how he was feeling just before 7.30pm, Murphy said rehabilitation from a back injury in his 20s had helped him build up endurance.
As tourists and staff – and at one point in the evening, Murphy’s two sons – looked on from the galleries, the senator maintained his filibuster to a mostly empty chamber, save a series of Democratic senators who joined him and made their own speeches through the day. Democrats Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Cory Booker of New Jersey stayed with Murphy on the floor for most of the debate.
The election-year fight over gun control in the wake of the shooting at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando pits strong proponents of the second amendment right to bear arms against those arguing for greater restrictions on the ability to obtain weapons. Trump, who has the endorsement of the NRA, told a rally in Georgia: “I’m going to save your second amendment.”
It has been nearly a decade since Congress made any significant changes to federal gun laws. In April 2007 Congress passed a law to strengthen the instant background check system after a gunman at Virginia Tech who killed 32 people was able to purchase his weapons because his mental health history was not in the instant background check database.
Murphy is seeking a vote on legislation that would let the government bar sales of guns and explosives to people it suspects of being terrorists. Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, offered a similar version of the amendment in December, a day after an extremist couple killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, but the Republican-run Senate rejected the proposal on a near party-line vote. Murphy also wants a vote to expand background checks.
The Orlando shooter, Omar Mateen, was added to a government watchlist of individuals known or suspected of being involved in terrorist activities in 2013, when he was investigated for inflammatory statements to co-workers. But he was pulled from the database when that investigation was closed 10 months later.
The NRA said it was happy to meet Trump and reiterated its support for a bill from the Texas Republican senator John Cornyn that would let the government delay firearms sales to suspected terrorists for up to 72 hours. Prosecutors would have to persuade a judge to block the transaction permanently, a bar Democrats and gun control activists say is too high.
Cornyn and other Republicans argue that Feinstein’s bill denies due process to people who may be on the terror list erroneously and are trying to exercise their constitutional right to gun ownership.
Separately, Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control group backed by the former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, said it was working on a compromise with the Pennsylvania senator Patrick Toomey, a Republican in a tough re-election race this year who has sought compromise in the past on gun control measures.
By the end of the day, Toomey had introduced legislation that would direct the attorney general to create a new list of suspected terrorists who could be barred from buying weapons. But Democrats immediately rejected that idea, saying it would create too much of a backlog. ||||| poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201606/778/1155968404_4944693672001_4944665893001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Democrats end filibuster, announce GOP to hold gun votes A deal on legislation to ban gun sales to suspected terrorists still looks unlikely.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and fellow Senate Democrats officially relinquished the floor early Thursday morning after spending nearly 15 hours straight talking about gun control, paving the way for high-profile congressional votes on restricting firearms just days after the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Despite the flurry of activity, though, the two sides appeared no closer to an agreement on gun legislation that can pass the Senate.
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Still, the chamber is likely to vote on two Democratic-backed gun measures: a proposal from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) meant to bar those on federal terror watch lists from obtaining firearms, and a plan from Murphy and Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) mandating background checks for sales at gun shows and over the internet. Republicans are expected to put forward two of their own proposals for votes.
“We’ve gotten to a place where we’re going to get votes on these important amendments,” Murphy, who had led the rhetorical charge on the Senate floor, said shortly before 1:30 a.m. Thursday. “What would’ve been unacceptable is to spend this entire week on legislative business that was irrelevant to the epidemic of gun violence that has been made more real than ever.”
The Connecticut senator, who had been a leading gun-control advocate in the Senate since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, took to the floor at 11:21 a.m. Wednesday to draw attention to the Democrats’ latest push to crack down on firearms laws. But it was a caucus-wide effort — 38 other Senate Democrats joined Murphy in the filibuster that lasted 14 hours and 50 minutes, with a handful of lawmakers, including Booker and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), standing with Murphy for hours on end.
Murphy formally yielded at 2:11 a.m. Thursday after delivering an emotional tribute to two Sandy Hook victims: 6-year-old Dylan Hockley and a teacher’s aide, Anne Marie Murphy, who was fatally shot while trying to shield Hockley from bullets.
“It doesn’t take courage to stand here on the floor of the United States Senate for two hours or six hours or 14 hours,” Murphy said. “It takes courage to look into the eye of a shooter and instead of running, wrapping your arms around a 6-year-old boy and accepting death."
The senator continued: “If Anne Marie Murphy could do that, then ask yourself: What can you do to make sure that Orlando or Sandy Hook never, ever happens again?”
As Murphy and other Senate Democrats talked all day Wednesday, however, bipartisan negotiations on gun legislation were breaking down behind closed doors.
In an election year, even something that seems politically unassailable — such as barring potential terrorists from getting weapons — is proving to be an incredibly difficult task. While senators in both parties say they want a solution, the Democrats’ attention-grabbing filibuster may be remembered more vividly than sputtering negotiations aimed at finding a compromise to close the so-called terrorist gun loophole.
“I’m not looking for cover; I’m looking to get something done here,” said Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), who was speaking with the pro-gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety about a potential compromise. But Democrats have already rejected that proposal as worse than previous Republican offerings.
At first blush, the Senate on Wednesday seemed ready to take action to try to prevent future killings like last weekend’s massacre of 49 people in Orlando. Even as Democrats planned their lengthy filibuster, Republicans batted around anti-terrorism proposals and both parties were briefed by FBI Director James Comey.
But aides in both parties said there was little real movement by the end of the day, and both sides remained dug in behind their previous positions. Republicans and Democrats developed anti-terror guns proposals in December after the mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif. — and one senior Democratic source said it would be a breakthrough simply to get re-dos on those two failed votes.
“My guess is we’re back to square one,” the source said.
The day began in earnest when Murphy launched a talking filibuster on the Senate floor — which was quickly joined by fellow Democrats — in an effort to pressure Republicans to accept legislation that would deny suspected terrorists from purchasing firearms and require universal background checks.
The Senate is debating a spending bill for the Justice Department, to which Democrats had pushed to offer gun amendments.
“I’m going to remain on this floor until we get some signal, some sign that we can come together on these two measures, that we can get a path forward on addressing this epidemic in a meaningful, bipartisan way,” Murphy said as he launched his filibuster.
Most of the Democratic Caucus was unaware of Murphy’s plans until he took the floor, two senior aides said, though there had been some talk Tuesday about lining up speeches throughout the night Wednesday.
At the same time, Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Feinstein explored whether there was common ground on preventing suspected terrorists from buying firearms. Currently, the two parties are backing very different approaches to resolving instances in which someone feels they’ve been wrongly put on a watch list and therefore cannot purchase a gun.
Talks to reconcile those different approaches began on Tuesday, and Cornyn dismissed the Democratic filibuster as “filling the dead air” while the two parties negotiate.
“This is a lot more nuanced than some people appreciate,” Cornyn said in an interview. “We’re trying.”
Late Wednesday afternoon, however, Feinstein signaled that her talks with Cornyn were unlikely to bear fruit.
“I don’t think that’s gonna work out,” Feinstein told reporters. When asked why, she responded: “I was told he gave it to the NRA. Now, that would do it.”
Separately, Toomey was working with the Michael Bloomberg-backed group Everytown on a bipartisan deal to end the loophole. Democrats seemed unmoved, but Toomey vowed to push on: “I don’t think you can assume all Democrats have” rejected the proposal, he said in a brief interview, although Everytown said in a statement it couldn’t yet endorse his bill.
Murphy and the Senate Democrats’ talk-a-thon marked an unusual day in the Senate, which had taken up the spending bill for DOJ, the Commerce Department and related agencies. By refusing to give up the floor, Senate Democrats prevented any amendment votes on the Justice Department spending bill.
As senators entered a classified briefing, Murphy and a handful of his colleagues held the floor, refusing to let the Senate move forward on the spending bill without a gun debate. Booker bucked up the new class of Senate pages, who were preparing for their first late night in the Capitol.
Murphy paced in his dress shoes — not the sneakers that Sen. Rand Paul once laced up for a filibuster. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) railed against the use of “Rambo-style” assault weapons. At one point Wednesday night, Murphy looked up toward his young son Owen — seated in the chamber gallery — and apologized to him for missing pizza night, while telling him: “I hope that you’ll understand someday why we’re doing this.”
Earlier Wednesday, three floors down in the bowels of the Capitol, senators pressed Comey on the different terror watch lists used by the feds, trying to understand how suspected Orlando shooter Omar Mateen was able to obtain his gun despite previous federal investigations, according to one senator who attended.
“The FBI has so many counterterrorism investigations going on all over this country. So the biggest threat is, in fact, the lone wolf right now,” Feinstein said after the briefing.
The Senate talkathon, FBI briefing and backroom talks came the same day presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump tweeted that he would meet with the NRA.
The NRA formally backed an approach favored by Senate Republicans that would allow a judge to arbitrate people who mistakenly end up on the terrorism watch list and want to buy guns, while Democrats prefer giving the Justice Department such authority. Both bills were voted down by the Senate in December.
“If an investigation uncovers evidence of terrorist activity or involvement, the government should be allowed to immediately go to court, block the sale, and arrest the terrorist. At the same time, due process protections should be put in place that allow law-abiding Americans who are wrongly put on a watch list to be removed,” said Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action.
The FBI has also signaled concerns about the general thrust of the Democratic proposal in the past. During testimony to Congress in 2015, Comey indicated that barring someone on the watch list from buying a gun could potentially compromise terror investigations.
“It’s a little bit challenging for us because ‘known or suspected’ means it hasn’t been adjudicated in every case that somebody is a terrorist,” Comey told Feinstein during the hearing last year. “It’s somebody we’re investigating, so we don’t want to, obviously, blow our investigation. Sorry.”
This time around, however, Feinstein anticipated that her proposal wouldn't be a problem because it contained protections that would prevent disclosing national security investigations, she said. Her legislation would not require the Justice Department to block the sale, but rather give it the powers to do so, an aide said.
The blessing of the NRA caused Republicans to dig in behind Cornyn’s proposal and made it harder for any compromise with Democrats to pass muster.
But Cornyn’s original proposal from last year also included language to defund “sanctuary cities” — a provision he has said he will remove. Including it last year made it impossible for most Democrats to support his proposal, which garnered 55 votes, five short of the 60-vote threshold.
“My hope is we will grow our vote,” Cornyn said.
Cornyn’s plan, however, drew some criticism from Toomey, who has played a key role on gun policy. The senator dismissed both gun measures put forward in the Senate, saying the Democratic plan lacked due process but that Cornyn’s proposal was insufficient, too. The Texas Republican’s plan allows the attorney general to delay a gun purchase for up to three days.
Toomey introduced his own bill, which would require the attorney general to submit terror lists to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, providing a way to overrule the attorney general. But Democrats familiar with the proposal said it would make it harder to block terrorists from buying guns.
Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) is also discussing a potential compromise with Democrats, according to an aide.
||||| Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) ended a 14-hour filibuster to force Republicans to vote on two gun control measures on June 16. He told the emotional story of a Sandy Hook victim before he left the floor. (AP)
The Senate is expected to vote Monday on a series of competing gun-control measures that will highlight the continuing divide between Democrats and Republicans over how Congress should respond to mass shootings.
All are likely to fail as the two parties largely retreat to their respective corners on gun control after attempts to craft a compromise frayed almost as soon as they began.
Senators are expected to vote on four proposals, according to Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas). Two of them, backed by Democrats, would seek to prevent suspected terrorists from acquiring guns and explosives and impose mandatory background checks for firearms sold at gun shows and through online dealers.
Republicans are expected to offer two competing proposals, including one that would keep guns away from suspected terrorists if authorities can prove they have probable cause to do so within three business days of the attempted sale, said Cornyn, the author of that legislation.
Those measures have all failed to pass the Senate before, a point that frustrated many senators Thursday.
“Instead of trying to find a solution that would work and still protect people’s constitutional rights, we’re going to battle to a draw on Monday night,” Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said. The votes, he continued are “an intentional way to keep this as an issue; it’s not a way to solve this problem.”
Even if the Senate were to strike a deal, it’s unclear such a proposal would be able to get through the House. Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) was non-committal on the issue Thursday.
“We want to make sure that something like this doesn’t happen again.” he told reporters. “Everybody wants that. But as we look at how to proceed, we also want to make sure that we’re not infringing upon people’s legitimate constitutional rights. That’s important.”
How to prevent terrorists from getting guns has become a subject of intense debate in Congress in the wake of the deadly attack in Orlando on Sunday in which 49 people were killed. The shooter, 29-year-old Omar Mateen, had been on the FBI’s terrorist watch list, but he was removed in 2014 because of a lack of evidence that he would commit an immediate crime.
1 of 25 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × What the investigation into the Orlando mass shooting looks like View Photos Officials are scouring the site and others in the area for information about the June 12 massacre. Caption Officials are scouring the site and others in the area for information about the June 12 massacre. June 15, 2016 Law enforcement officials gather outside Pulse nightclub in Orlando during the shooting investigation. David Goldman/AP Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.
Democrats have been angling for votes on a measure written by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that would deny firearms and explosives to anyone the attorney general suspects of being a terrorist. They also want a vote on a proposal drafted by Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) that would expand background checks by requiring them for guns purchased at gun shows and online.
Murphy staged a near-15-hour filibuster on the Senate floor over the past two days to secure a vote on those measures and credited his blockade with pressuring Republican leaders to commit to holding the votes.
“We still have to get from here to there, but we did not have that commitment when we started,” Murphy said early Thursday, though he noted that there was “no guarantee that those amendments pass.”
[Why it makes perfect sense that Chris Murphy is leading a gun-control filibuster]
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) celebrated Murphy’s efforts, calling his display “inspiring” and saying all 46 Senate Democrats are united behind him.
“I hope he got the attention of the Senate Republicans,” Reid added.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) derided Murphy’s filibuster as “a campaign talkathon out here on the Senate floor which also prevented us from moving forward.”
The Fix's Amber Phillips breaks down why Congress is unlikely to pass major gun control legislation, despite Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) filibustering for 15 hours on June 15. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)
GOP leaders say they have maintained since Tuesday there would be votes on amendments, though they had not specified which Republican- or Democrat-backed proposals would be considered.
[How ‘pro-gun’ Bob Casey became a Senate evangelist for gun control]
“Of course no one wants terrorists to be able to buy a gun,” McConnell said. “If Democrats are actually serious about getting a solution on that issue, not just making a political talking point, they’ll join with us to support Senator Cornyn’s” bill.
But there are signs Republicans are growing uncomfortable with the Cornyn alternative.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is not up for reelection until 2020, on Wednesday criticized the measure — which she supported last year — saying it isn’t strong enough and “doesn’t do the job.”
Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.) said he thought “the Cornyn approach doesn’t give the AG the opportunity that an AG needs to make a case against someone who is actually a terrorist.”
Neither was ready to support Feinstein’s legislation. But both have been working on potential alternatives to the Cornyn and Feinstein bills.
Collins said Thursday that she was working with “a group of Republican senators” on a measure that would give the attorney general full authority to deny the right to buy a gun to anyone on the No Fly or Selectee lists – subsets of the FBI’s consolidated terrorist watchlist of 800,000 names.
It would also include a five-year look back provision ensuring that the FBI would be alerted whenever someone who used to be on one of those lists, like the Orlando shooter, purchased a gun.
Someone like Mateen “wouldn’t be denied the ability to buy a gun because he’s no longer on the list, but the FBI would be pinged that he had purchased a gun,” Collins explained, concluding that sequence of events “would undoubtedly put him back on the list.”
Toomey was also in talks Wednesday with a gun-control advocacy organization backed by former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg to craft a measure that Republicans could live with to prevent terrorists from obtaining firearms.
“This is not rocket science to figure this out,” Toomey said on the Senate floor Wednesday, adding that he had been speaking to “several” senators about a compromise.
But by the day’s end, leading Democrats were deriding the specifics of the Pennsylvania Republican’s proposal, and a spokeswoman for Bloomberg’s organization, Everytown for Gun Safety, said, “We’re not there yet.”
On Wednesday, Toomey proposed his own language, in which a secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court would annually vet a list from the attorney general of potential terrorists, who could be prevented from purchasing a firearm or explosive if the court agreed.
Meanwhile, other attempts at compromise fell short.
Feinstein approached Cornyn to try to reach a deal Wednesday, but those talks appeared to have frayed.
“I don’t think it’s going to work out,” Feinstein told reporters late Wednesday of her efforts to find a middle ground with Cornyn.
[Senators target terrorist watch lists]
Both the Cornyn and Feinstein measures failed to pass the Senate in December following the shootings in San Bernardino, Calif. Republicans argue Feinstein’s legislation doesn’t do enough to protect the Second Amendment rights of individuals who might be labeled suspected terrorists by mistake.
Democrats say the time frame in Cornyn’s bill is too narrow and would make it functionally impossible to prevent anyone, even a terrorist, from getting a gun.
“It’s a way for them to say they’re doing something when they are doing nothing,” Schumer said.
The Justice Department on Thursday formally announced its support for the Feinstein amendment.
At a news conference with Senate Democrats and families of victims of gun violence June 16, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said others in the Senate are "for the first time ... actually saying we ought to do something" to prevent shooting deaths. (Reuters)
Previous efforts to pass gun-control legislation in the wake of recent mass shootings have been unsuccessful. The closest the Senate came to making headway in recent years was in 2013, when the Senate voted on a measure written by Toomey and Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) to require criminal and mental background checks at gun shows and for online gun sales following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
But only 54 senators, including four Republicans, supported that bill then — six votes shy of the 60 votes supporters needed.
Manchin called the substance of his and Toomey’s measure “the fundamental building block” of gun-control legislation on Wednesday.
“You can’t do a no-fly bill, you can’t do a terrorist watch list, and then leave a loophole,” Manchin told reporters. “That loophole must be closed.”
This frame grab provided by C-SPAN shows Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) speaking on the floor of the Senate after launching a filibuster over gun control. (Senate Television via AP)
Murphy said early Thursday that the votes on the Democratic-backed amendments to keep guns from suspected terrorists and expand background checks were just the beginning of a bigger agenda.
“We want to start with these two common-sense measures,” Murphy said early Thursday, adding that Democrats had “carefully selected” the proposals “as the most likely to get bipartisan votes” because “they are as noncontroversial as you get.”
Looming over the debate is where presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump stands. On Wednesday morning, he tweeted that he would be meeting with the NRA to express his views that those on the terrorist list should not be allowed to purchase weapons.
I will be meeting with the NRA, who has endorsed me, about not allowing people on the terrorist watch list, or the no fly list, to buy guns. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2016
Several Republican senators said on Thursday that they aren’t sure what Trump’s position is on the specific proposals being considered by the Senate and shrugged off whether they had to be on the same page as their party’s presumptive nominee.
“I can’t comment on where he’s going on that issue,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Trump’s top ally in the Senate. “He’s been a staunch supporter of the second amendment, and there is a huge divide between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. “
Gun-control advocates are braced for another policy defeat in the Senate, but they are also claiming a victory of sorts.
“After Sandy Hook it took four months for the U.S. Senate to vote. After Orlando it took four days,” said Everytown spokeswoman Erika Soto Lamb. “Make no mistake that this is another sign of the sea change in gun politics.”
Mike DeBonis and Kelsey Snell contributed to this report.
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– After almost 15 hours of filibustering, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy declared victory early Thursday morning, saying he had secured a Senate vote on gun control measures. The Connecticut senator, who cited the Sandy Hook massacre when he launched the filibuster Wednesday morning, called it a day at 2:11am, the Guardian reports. He told reporters that Republican leaders had agreed to vote on measures to expand background checks and ban gun sales to suspected terrorists, which will be introduced as amendments to a spending bill, reports the Washington Post. Murphy noted that while he had secured a vote, there's no guarantee that any Republicans will actually vote in favor of the measures. During the talkathon, Murphy said the Orlando mass shooting was a "devastating" event, and that the Senate "has done absolutely nothing" after other mass shootings. Sources from both parties tell Politico that during a difficult day of negotiations on Capitol Hill, very little progress was made in bringing the sides together, even on such a seemingly simple measure as denying guns to suspected terrorists. (Donald Trump reportedly favors a ban on such sales and plans to meet with the NRA on the issue.)
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Conakry (AFP) - West Africa's Ebola-hit nations have agreed to impose a cross-border isolation zone at the epicentre of the world's worst-ever outbreak, amid warnings that the deadly epidemic is spiralling out of control.
The announcement came at an emergency summit in the Guinean capital on Friday to discuss the outbreak, which has killed more than 700 people, with the World Health Organization warning Ebola could cause "catastrophic" loss of life and severe economic disruption if it continued to spread.
View photo .
"These areas will be isolated by police and military. The people in these areas being isolated will be provided with material support," she said at the meeting in Conakry.
Opening the summit, WHO chief Margaret Chan told leaders that the response of the three countries to the epidemic had been "woefully inadequate", revealing that the outbreak was "moving faster than our efforts to control it".
"If the situation continues to deteriorate, the consequences can be catastrophic in terms of lost lives but also severe socio-economic disruption and a high risk of spread to other countries," Chan said.
She described the outbreak as "by far the largest ever in the nearly four-decade history of this disease".
"It is taking place in areas with fluid population movements over porous borders, and it has demonstrated its ability to spread via air travel, contrary to what has been seen in past outbreaks," she told the summit.
"Cases are occurring in rural areas which are difficult to access, but also in densely populated capital cities. This meeting must mark a turning point in the outbreak response."
- $100 million action plan -
The leaders of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea used the summit to launch a $100 million (75 million euro) action plan that will see several hundred more medical staff deployed to battle the epidemic.
The three countries will also bolster efforts to prevent and detect suspected cases, urge better border surveillance, and reinforce the WHO's sub-regional outbreak coordination centre in Guinea.
Darab did not outline the exact area to be part of the isolation zone, but the epicentre of the outbreak has a diameter of almost 300 kilometres (185 miles), spreading from Kenema in eastern Sierra Leone to Macenta in southern Guinea, and taking in most of Liberia's extreme northern forests.
"The healthcare services in these zones will be strengthened for treatment, testing and contact tracing to be carried out effectively," she said.
The meeting came after Dubai's Emirates became the first global airline to announce it was suspending flights to the stricken area, while the United States, Germany, France and Italy have issued warnings against travel to the three African countries.
US President Barack Obama announced on Friday that the United States would screen delegates travelling from Ebola-hit countries to Washington for a three-day Africa summit next week.
Two Americans infected with Ebola in West Africa will be evacuated back to the United States in the coming days to be cared for in strict isolation, US officials said.
Kent Brantly, a doctor who was treating Ebola patients in Liberia, and Christian missionary worker Nancy Writebol, were being flown home, but it was not immediately clear when they would arrive back in the US.
Meanwhile Nigeria quarantined two people who had "primary contact" with a man who died of Ebola in Lagos last week.
The WHO raised the death toll by 57 to 729 on Thursday, announcing that 122 new cases had been detected between Thursday and Sunday last week, bringing the total to more than 1,300.
"Current numbers of national and international response staff are woefully inadequate," Chan said, revealing that 60 health workers had died treating patients in the outbreak.
- State of emergency -
Sierra Leone's leader Ernest Bai Koroma has announced a state of emergency, quarantining Ebola-hit areas and cancelling foreign trips by ministers, while Liberia has closed all of its schools and put government workers on leave.
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf warned ahead of the summit that the crisis was "nearing a catastrophe" and appealed for more doctors and supplies.
Ebola, which has no vaccine, causes severe muscular pain, fever, headaches and, in the worst cases, unstoppable bleeding.
It has killed around two-thirds of those it has infected since its emergence in 1976, with two outbreaks registering fatality rates approaching 90 percent.
The death rate in the current outbreak is a lower-than-average 55 percent.
Fears that it could spread to other continents through air travel have been growing, with European and Asian countries on alert alongside African countries outside the Ebola crisis zone.
In Britain, Sierra Leone cyclist Moses Sesay was quarantined and tested for Ebola at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, before being given the all-clear, the athlete told a British newspaper.
Kenya, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Benin said they had enhanced screening at border points and airports. ||||| CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — The medical school professors no longer want Kadiatou Fanta in the classroom. Her boyfriend has broken up with her. Each day the 26-year-old eats alone and sleeps alone. Even her own family members are afraid to touch her months after she survived Ebola.
A healthcare worker walks near a Ebola isolation unit wearing protective gear against the virus at Kenema Government Hospital, in Kenema that is in the Eastern Province around 300km, (186 miles), from... (Associated Press)
In this photo taken Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, Sulaiman Kemokai a Ebola virus survivor near his house in the Heigbema Village in Kenema situated in the Eastern Province around 300km, (186 miles), from the... (Associated Press)
In this photo taken Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, Sulaiman Kemokai a Ebola virus survivor stretches in front of his house in the Heigbema Village in Kenema situated in the Eastern Province around 300km, (186... (Associated Press)
Long gone are the days when she was vomiting blood and wracked by fever. And even with a certificate of health declaring her as having recovered, she says it's still as though "Ebola survivor" is burned on her flesh.
"Ebola has ruined my life even though I am cured," she says. "No one wants to spend a minute in my company for fear of being contaminated."
The Ebola virus is only transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids of the sick, such as blood, saliva, urine, sweat or semen. When the first cases emerged in Guinea back in March, no one had ever confronted such a virulent and gruesome disease in this corner of Africa.
The current outbreak now has killed more than 1,000 people, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization. The fatality rate in previous Ebola outbreaks has been up to 90 percent, though health officials say this time up to half of victims are surviving.
While there is no specific treatment for Ebola, patients can be given supportive care such as intravenous fluids to keep them hydrated. If they can live long enough to develop antibodies to the virus they can survive, though they could still contract other strains of Ebola in the future, medical experts say.
Health workers hope that seeing living proof that people can survive Ebola will encourage fearful communities to get medical care instead of hiding the sick at home where they can infect relatives.
In Sierra Leone, Sulaiman Kemokai, 20, was released from an Ebola treatment center on Sunday after spending 25 days there. He still feels stiffness in his joints but says he is gaining strength each day.
"When I became sick, I was scared to go to hospital, I hid from my family, from health workers. After four days I couldn't hide anymore, I was too sick. An Ebola ambulance collected me and took me to the hospital," he recalls.
But some within his community are reluctant to have any physical contact with Kemokai. Those released from treatment centers are no longer contagious, though Ebola can still be present in men's semen for up to seven weeks.
Kemokai will have more family support than most: His older brother and sister also have survived Ebola, while the disease took their mother's life.
Fanta, the Guinean medical student, says she was working as an intern at a clinic in Conakry, the capital, when a patient came in from the provinces sick with what doctors initially thought was malaria. She took the man's vital signs — but as is common in Guinea — she had no protective gloves or face mask.
About two weeks later, in mid-March, she started having diarrhea and soon was vomiting blood. She says her lasting troubles began when doctors declared her cured and discharged her from the isolation ward at the hospital in early April.
Although she no longer had the virus in her bloodstream, she still was visibly unwell after nearly three weeks in the hospital. Word of her sickness and return spread quickly in the poor suburb of Tanene where she was staying with extended family.
The boyfriend she used to see every day disappeared when he heard she had Ebola. Now he won't take her calls, even months later.
She tried to re-enroll with her medical school courses at Gamal Abdel Nasser University. In a sign of just how entrenched misconceptions are of Ebola, though, even the instructors did not want her in the classrooms, even though she handed them her certificate of health.
"I still haven't taken my exams while my classmates have moved on to the next level," she laments. "The professors said they were going to grade me by telephone."
Now she's living off what money her parents can scrape together to send her from their village, and still dreaming of when she can resume her courses.
"I want to take care of patients," she says. "The reason I am alive today and speaking to you now is because doctors saved me."
___
Larson reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writer Michael Duff in Kenema, Sierra Leone also contributed to this report.
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Follow Krista Larson at https://www.twitter.com/klarsonafrica.
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– The Ebola outbreak is spreading so fast that governments are putting into place "cordon sanitaire"—a tactic once used to contain the Black Death, the New York Times reports. The idea is to draw a boundary around the infected area and not allow anybody out. In this case, it's a triangular area that overlaps Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia and that has seen 70% of the Ebola cases. A group encompassing all three nations set the controversial plan in motion earlier this month, reports AFP. Troops reportedly began closing roads last week. WHO officials aren’t against it, and CDC officials say it could work if used wisely. However, there is concern that those left behind the line could be abandoned. "It has a lot of potential to go poorly if it’s not done with an ethical approach," says a CDC quarantine expert. Meanwhile, public opinion of Ebola is rife with misunderstanding—one sign is the case of Guinean medical student Kadiatou Fanta, an Ebola survivor. Though now free of the disease, she has been shunned from school, her boyfriend has left her, and family members avoid her. "Ebola has ruined my life even though I am cured," she tells the AP. (The outbreak has been traced back to a 2-year-old boy.)
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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A report released Monday detailing the handling of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation case faults police and prosecutors for long delays in bringing charges but found no evidence that politics affected the investigation.
In this Tuesday, May 20, 2014 photo, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett talks to reporters outside his polling place at the Shaler Villa Volunteer Fire Company after voting in the Pennsylvania primary election... (Associated Press)
FILE - In this June 22, 2012, file photo, former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky arrives at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa. New details about the scope and pace of Sandusky's... (Associated Press)
FILE - In this Thursday, July 11, 2013, file photo, Pennsylvania Attorney Gen. Kathleen Kane speaks during a news conference at the National Constitution Center, in Philadelphia. Kane is preparing to... (Associated Press)
The report, commissioned by Democratic Attorney General Kathleen Kane and written by former federal prosecutor Geoff Moulton, blamed a three-year time lapse in filing charges on communication problems, an expungement of a 1998 complaint about the former Penn State coach and a failure to take certain investigative steps early on.
"The facts show an inexcusable lack of urgency in charging and stopping a serial sexual predator," said Kane, who had vowed to conduct a review of the investigation while running for office. "The report documents that more investigative work took place in just one month in 2011 than in all of either 2009 or 2010."
Moulton said his review, including internal emails by state prosecutors, "revealed no direct evidence that electoral politics influenced any important decision made in the Sandusky investigation."
Then-Attorney General Tom Corbett, a Republican, was in the midst of his successful 2010 gubernatorial campaign during the Sandusky investigation.
As a candidate in 2012, Kane said that Corbett may have had a political motive to slow down the investigation, an assertion Corbett has denied. The arrest of Sandusky led to the firing of longtime Penn State coach Joe Paterno while Corbett was serving as a university trustee; Penn State alumni and fans have objected to how Paterno was treated.
Corbett spokesman Jay Pagni said Monday that the investigation was conducted with the victims at the forefront.
"It was a thorough, thoughtful investigation, and in the end a child predator can no longer victimize anyone," Pagni said.
Sandusky was convicted in 2012 of sexually abusing 10 boys and is serving decades in prison sentence.
The report said the lead prosecutor at the time, Jonelle Eshbach, hectored her bosses about the case during a stretch in 2010 when the probe was largely dormant.
Eshbach drafted a grand jury report in March 2010 based on the claims of a lone victim, but she spent much of the ensuing months — as Corbett won the primary — trying to get approval for the report.
"In the interim, no witnesses were interviewed, no witnesses testified in the grand jury and no grand jury subpoenas were issued," Moulton wrote. He said the basis for that decision was that one accuser's testimony wouldn't be enough to convict Sandusky and an acquittal would make it harder to file more charges later.
According to the report, prosecutors told Moulton they waited until 2011 to search Sandusky's home computer and subpoena child protective services records because they "believed that they were unlikely to be productive and would have risked publicly revealing the existence of the investigation."
Two days after Corbett was elected governor in November 2010, the Centre County prosecutor received an anonymous tip directing investigators to assistant football coach Mike McQueary, whose testimony would eventually help convict Sandusky.
The investigation picked up steam after that, and authorities subpoenaed key figures at Penn State, including Paterno, vice president Gary Schultz and athletic director Tim Curley. Additional victims were identified, and on June 21, 2011, Sandusky's home was searched, producing photos and typewritten lists of children who participated in events at Sandusky's charity, The Second Mile, with some names highlighted.
More resources early on, including additional investigators, may not have speeded up the case, Moulton said, because the best leads in 2010 and early 2011 were not related to how many detectives were devoted to the matter.
He said decisions not to bring charges based solely on one accuser or, in June 2011, after three more witnesses had testified before a grand jury, "fit within acceptable bounds of prosecutorial discretion."
Moulton noted that if authorities had put together a broad-based team early on, it's possible someone may have known about or turned up a 1998 police investigation of Sandusky prompted by a mother's complaint that the coach had showered with her son. That report had been expunged, one reason for the lengthy investigation, he said.
Corbett said "electoral politics did not enter his thinking in any way," Moulton wrote, concluding the campaign donations Corbett received from people associated with The Second Mile does not appear to have affected the investigation.
The report does not go into depth about actions at Penn State, where three former administrators await trial on charges they participated in a criminal cover-up of complaints about Sandusky. The university eventually accepted a set of penalties from the NCAA over its handling of the matter, including a four-year bowl ban, a temporary reduction in football scholarships, the loss of 112 wins from Paterno's later years and a $60 million fine. ||||| A report into the three-year investigation of serial sex abuser Jerry Sandusky found that prosecutors, facing a shaky initial witness, had reason to take their time to build a case with multiple victims, according to sources familiar with the document. Though raising questions about delays in the inquiry, the report, scheduled to be released Monday, does not fault prosecutors for using a grand jury to investigate Sandusky, the sources said. It also found no evidence that politics or a lack of resources influenced the investigation. The report notes prosecutors from the state Attorney General's Office felt strongly that testimony from the first boy to accuse Sandusky would likely not have been enough to convict the former assistant football coach at Pennsylvania State University. It does question some decisions along the way. For instance, it notes that prosecutors took too long to take certain investigative steps, including gathering reports on Sandusky from other law enforcement agencies, the sources said.
The report was commissioned and will be released by Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane, who was elected in 2012 largely on a campaign that questioned whether one of her predecessors in the job, Gov. Corbett, deliberately slowed the investigation for political purposes.
In her bid for office, Kane said, "Instead of using a grand jury in the Jerry Sandusky case, I would have had him arrested after the first victims came forward."
Kane, a Democrat, suggested that Corbett, a Republican, delayed the probe to avoid angering voters and donors. Politics, she told the editorial board of one newspaper, "probably" drove his decisions.
"You don't put a case like that before the grand jury," she said. "That was the leadership. Somebody made that decision that they're going to drag that out."
However, the review by former federal prosecutor Geoffrey Moulton concludes it was reasonable for prosecutors to build a case with many victims, the sources said. The Moulton report notes that the first victim to come forward had difficulty talking about his abuse, to police or a grand jury, and would often give only one-word replies when questioned about Sandusky's attacks.
A spokesman for Kane on Sunday night said she would have no comment before her news conference Monday.
As for Corbett, Moulton's review of the prosecutors who worked for him - as well as of tens of thousands of e-mails they exchanged during the investigation - turned up no evidence that "electoral politics" played a role in the case. Corbett's critics have suggested he might have delayed such a controversial investigation because he was running for the state's highest office at the time.
The sources said Moulton also concluded neither Corbett nor any of his senior aides told prosecutors how to conduct the investigation.
The Moulton study does question aspects of the case, according to the sources. It identifies several months in 2010 when the inquiry appeared to have ground to a halt.
Moulton also faulted prosecutors for waiting too long to ask Penn State to turn over any records containing complaints against Sandusky. The key subpoena to the university was not issued until December 2010 - 21 months after the attorney general obtained the case. State investigators also did not visit local and university police to search for Sandusky-related records until January 2011, a step that turned up four more victims.
Moulton reportedly also faulted prosecutors for waiting until June 2011 to search Sandusky's house. In rebuttal, the sources said, prosecutors said that for months, they lacked evidence for a search warrant. There was also worry that a search, if publicized, would reveal the open investigation.
The search of the house turned up photographs of Sandusky's victims, as well as a typed list of children's names - some with asterisks next to them. One of those highlighted was a victim prosecutors did not know about at the time.
Sandusky, for years a top assistant to Joe Paterno, is serving 30 to 60 years in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting 10 boys. Former Penn State president Graham B. Spanier and two other former ranking administrators await trial on accusations that they covered up Sandusky's conduct.
In a timeline Moulton explored in his report, the Sandusky case began in 2008, when a teenage boy told school officials in Clinton County that Sandusky had molested him. Sandusky was not charged until November 2011.
In 2008, social workers found the complaint credible, but the case soon got bogged down in jurisdictional issues. Though the victim attended school in Clinton County, most of the wrongdoing took place in neighboring Centre County, home of Penn State.
Finally, five months after the victim first spoke out, the case was handed off to state prosecutors.
In a missed opportunity, the report says, according to one source, social workers early on conducted what turned out to be the only official interview of Sandusky - but without police or prosecutors.
Once the Attorney General's Office took up the case in March 2009, the assigned prosecutor, Jonelle Eshbach, and her supervisor, Deputy Attorney General Frank G. Fina, agreed to use a grand jury to investigate further. Eshbach believed that the first victim's account needed corroboration and that there were more victims to be found, the sources said she told Moulton.
Fina stressed the secret nature of a grand jury investigation, saying it would give fearful witnesses and victims protection to testify confidentially against such a prominent community figure as Sandusky.
Once the grand jury turned up evidence to buttress the first victim's account, Eshbach wanted to arrest Sandusky, the sources said Moulton learned.
However, the report says, proceeding with an arrest had its own risks – notably, that an acquittal as the result of a weak and thin case would have put a halt to more victims surfacing. And though sex criminals are thought to be obsessive, Sandusky was aware he was under law enforcement scrutiny, the report noted.
The sources said the report takes pains to account for the perspectives of the prosecutors who brought the case and those who criticized it, and recommends ways to improve the process.
The report will be closely read in political and legal circles. A scathing report that faulted Corbett, who faces a difficult reelection battle in the fall, could have damaged his chances for a second term.
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– A new report on the child-molestation investigation of Jerry Sandusky reveals "an inexcusable lack of urgency in charging and stopping a serial sexual predator," says Pennsylvania attorney general Kathleen Kane, who commissioned the report. Delays weren't, however, due to political concerns, the report finds. Kane had previously suggested that now-governor Tom Corbett's gubernatorial campaign might have slowed the process; concerns about the case were at the center of her own campaign, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Corbett was a trustee of Penn State, where Sandusky was a former coach. Had the new report seen politics at play, it could have posed a threat to his re-election campaign, the Inquirer notes. Still, "the report documents that more investigative work took place in just one month in 2011 than in all of either 2009 or 2010," Kane notes, per the AP. In 2010, the lead prosecutor drafted a grand jury report, but she struggled to get it approved. That report was based on a single victim's claims—likely not enough to get Sandusky convicted, says former federal prosecutor Geoff Moulton, who wrote the new report on the investigation. Police delayed searching Sandusky's home because they thought "they were unlikely to be productive and would have risked publicly revealing the existence of the investigation," the report says. Had the initial team of investigators been larger, however, they might have noticed a 1998 complaint about Sandusky showering with a child, Moulton said.
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International
'Nude' Or Not, Women's Cycling Team Uniform Makes Waves
If one goal of the uniforms for a women's cycling team from Colombia is to attract attention, they're a smashing success.
Some observers are calling the outfits — which in photos seem to feature a swatch of flesh-tone-colored fabric in their lower region — "rude," "wrong" and a "disaster." But others are defending the uniform and the cyclists who wear it, saying the criticism is entirely sensationalized.
The uniforms made quite a splash in Italy, where the team competed in the elite women's Giro della Toscana this weekend. The race was won by American Shelley Olds — but people on social media were thrown into a tizzy by the cycling kit of team Bogota Humana. (Contrary to some reports, the team isn't the national squad. Its sponsors include the city of Bogota, and it's endorsed by Colombia's sports ministry).
A photo tweeted by Hilary Evans was retweeted more than 11,000 times — and Twitter deemed the image risque enough to warrant a warning that "The following media may contain sensitive material."
"I'm no fashion expert but even I know that the Colombia women's cycling team kit seen here is a genuine disaster," Evans wrote.
The uniform also drew the attention of UCI President Brian Cookson.
To the many who have raised the issue of a certain women's team kit, we are on the case. It is unacceptable by any standard of decency. — Brian Cookson OBE (@BrianCooksonUCI) September 14, 2014
"To the many who have raised the issue of a certain women's team kit, we are on the case," he tweeted. "It is unacceptable by any standard of decency."
The BBC's story about the uniform, and Cookson's response, included a version of the post-race photo to which a black bar had been added.
UCI weighs in on That Kit as BBC gets all modest on riders' behalf http://t.co/3oIdXIpaZE #cycling pic.twitter.com/qpa4OltfCw — road.cc (@roadcc) September 15, 2014
The controversy led Colombian cycling program Ultimo Kilometro to post a photo of a pro men's team (Footon-Servetto-Fuji) in a similar "nude" uniform, with the caption "it's cycling, not fashion."
On Monday, information emerged that answers two key questions: Who would design a cycling suit with a nude-colored section, and is the uniform really as inappropriate in person as it looks in photos?
According to the Chasing Wheels website, the section that has made some viewers do a double-take is not a "nude" color, it's gold — and "Lycra done as gold effect never photographs well. It's unfortunate, but there you are."
As for the design, it seems to have come from one of the team's members, cyclist Angie Tatiana Rojas Suarez, according to both the Spanish-language ABC.es and El Tiempo.
Rojas is an accomplished 22-year-old athlete who has won national titles in both cycling and skating, according to her online bio. She also works as a sports journalist and as the chief of communications at the vitamin company that sponsors the cycling team.
Most of Rojas' recent messages on Twitter and Facebook skirt the uniform issue, choosing instead to celebrate her team's work in Italy.
But she did retweet a comment that said, "The uniform may not be the most beautiful and we may not like it, but there's no need for certain comments."
Rojas also retweeted a message of apology from an Italian cycling website that had helped whip up controversy over the photograph. In an apology published Sunday, the website Tuttobici said it had been vulgar and disrespectful to the Colombian cyclists. ||||| 1. It’s not the national team or the national team kit
It’s the colours of IDRD-Bogotá Humana-San Mateo-Solgar, who the Colombian Federation proudly announced would be competing in the Giro Del Toscana
2. It’s not flesh or nude, it’s gold
There are numerous tweets to this effect from people who have been paying attention. Lycra done as gold effect never photographs well. It’s unfortunate, but there you are. It’s not “unacceptable by any standard of decency” as the UCI boss Brian Cookson seems to suggest.
3. They’ve apparently been wearing it for up to 9 months
Here’s a picture of it being raced to victory in Colombia in August in the Carrera de la Mujer in Bogota. The rider with the bottle in her mouth is wearing it and wins the race. Here’s the report from Las Bielas
Jono Coulter tweeted this picture of the kit in El Salvador earlier this year.
4. It seems to have been designed by one of the riders on the team
ABC.es quotes several Colombia sources in its report on the kerfuffle (via Frontier Sports)
5. There is still no minimum wage for women in professional cycling
Events deemed “Women’s Elite” – like the Giro del Toscana at which they were competing – are roughly equivalent to the top two tiers of the men’s sport.
In 2011, second tier men’s teams were required to pay a minimum around 32,000 euro, according to the Inner Ring. A woman who wins every event in their top tier World Cup Series probably would fall short of that sum in prize money.
Most women in the top tier of professional cycling aren’t even making what most countries would describe as a minimum wage.
So you can be outraged by an unflattering photo.
Or you can be outraged by the fact that the people running the sport still haven’t bought forward meaningful change to ensure that women are not on the end of enduring sexism in the sport where their right to a fair wage for a professional job is still considered less important than the design of their kit.
There were an estimated 70,000 pedestrians injured in crashes in 2015, compared to 61,000 in 2006 — a nearly 15 percent increase over ten years. Furthermore, we know from research into hospital records that only a fraction of pedestrian crashes that cause injury are ever recorded by the police. The raw numbers hide many trends, truths, and lessons, and they present a wide range of questions: Is walking more dangerous than other modes of travel? Is walking getting safer? Who is getting killed in pedestrian crashes, where, when, and why? Ladah Law Firm works with folks who’ve been injured in bicycle accidents in the Vegas area. ||||| Add a location to your Tweets
When you tweet with a location, Twitter stores that location. You can switch location on/off before each Tweet and always have the option to delete your location history. Learn more ||||| 'Naked' team cycling kit unacceptable - Brian Cookson
A cycling team's kit which made the female riders look naked has been described as "unacceptable".
Photos of the Colombian team's outfit for a race in Italy showed what seemed to be a skin-coloured fabric around their waist and hips.
Brian Cookson, president of the International Cycling Union (UCI), said: "It is unacceptable by any standard of decency."
The UCI said it would remind the team of their responsibilities.
Photos of the six IDRD-Bogota Humana-San Mateo-Solgar cyclists - shown above with a slight alteration - were taken at the Giro della Toscana in Tuscany and caused controversy on social media at the weekend.
However, reports in Colombia have suggested the kit was designed by one of the female riders, approved by her team-mates and has been worn for several months.
What cycling's governing body said "The UCI will be sending a letter to the Colombian Federation reminding them of their responsibility regarding article 1.3.046 in the control of regional and club team kits that compete in international events."
"One of the riders appears to have designed it without the intent on making it look as though they were partially nude," Colombian cycling journalist Klaus Bellon told BBC World Service.
"People in Colombia have tried to protect and stand up for the women who are being made fun of for something that wasn't intended at all."
The mainly red and yellow outfit appears to be largely ordinary from the midriff up, with the exception of what looks like a flesh-coloured band across the torso.
Some observers have suggested the strip across the waist is gold coloured but appeared lighter in photographs.
Cookson wrote on Twitter on Sunday: "To the many who have raised the issue of a certain women's team kit, we are on the case."
Former British Olympic champion Nicole Cooke said: "This has turned the sport into a joke. Girls stand up for yourselves - say no." ||||| Cycling
Controversy: The uniform with the flesh-coloured fabric.
BOGOTA: The designer of outfits for a Colombian women's cycling team defended the uniforms on Monday against complaints by cycling authorities that the clothing was inappropriate.
The team, IDRD-Bogota Humana-San Mateo-Solgar caused a stir over the weekend at the Tour of Tuscany with a skin-tight maillot, which is flesh-coloured across the cyclists' thighs and abdomen, at first glance making team members look naked across the pelvic area.
"It is based on sponsors' colours. It is in no way grotesque or scandalous," cyclist-designer Angie Ariza posted on Twitter.
The uniform in a more favourable light.
Brian Cookson, president of the International Cycling Federation (UCI), described the outfits as as "unacceptable," after a team picture went viral on the internet.
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"To the many who have raised the issue of a certain women's team kit, we are on the case. It is unacceptable by any standard of decency," Cookson wrote Sunday on Twitter.
The team's six cyclists were expected back Tuesday in Colombia for a planned press conference to explain their views. They have reportedly been wearing the outfits since January.
DPA ||||| The design of a new flesh-coloured kit that makes a Colombian women’s cycling team look naked below the waist has been described as unacceptable by Brian Cookson, the president of the UCI.
Photographs of the Bogota Humana team were taken at the Tour of Tuscany, showing six women wearing red and yellow kit with flesh-coloured material immediately above and below the waist. It is unclear if the team intend to wear a similar uniform next week while representing Colombia at the road world championships in Ponferrada, Spain.
After the pictures went viral on social media, Cookson tweeted: “To the many who have raised the issue of a certain women’s team kit, we are on the case. It is unacceptable by any standards of decency.”
Cycling’s governing body later confirmed that it was investigating the issue. “The UCI will be sending a letter to the Colombian federation reminding them of their responsibility … in the control of regional and club team kits that compete in international events,” read a statement.
Among some of the leading riders criticising the outfits was the former Commonwealth, Olympic and world road race champion Nicole Cooke, who tweeted: “This has turned the sport into a joke. Girls stand up for yourselves – say no.”
Nicole Cooke (@NicoleCooke2012) This has turned the sport into a joke. Girls stand up for yourselves - say no pic.twitter.com/Jpt1Vo9Xog
• The Joy of Six: Scott Murray on football’s worst kits
• Gallery: more of the most weird and horrendous football kits
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– If the Bogota Humana Colombian women's cycling team walked by you on the street, you might do a double-take at their uniforms. The outfits start out red and gold, then transform to a flesh tone below the waist—making it appear to some as if they're not wearing anything down there, the Guardian reports. Photos showing the odd attire have recently gone viral, rankling fashionistas and cycling officials, including Union Cycliste Internationale President Brian Cookson, who tweeted that the uniform is "unacceptable by any standard of decency" and that his governing organization is "on the case." The UCI says it's contacting the Colombian bicycling federation to remind it to keep tabs on uniforms, and former road-race champion Nicole Cooke tweeted, "This has turned the sport into a joke. Girls stand up for yourselves—say no." But reports indicate one of the team members designed the uniform, got the thumbs-up from her teammates, and wasn't trying to go for the nude look, a cycling journalist tells the BBC. Via NPR, the Chasing Wheels biking blog adds that the questionable band of fabric is actually gold—not flesh-colored—and says, "Lycra done as gold effect never photographs well." The designer, identified by the Sydney Morning Herald as cyclist Angie Ariza, says, "It is based on sponsors' colors. It is in no way grotesque or scandalous."
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Aug. 28, 2012
In a brief press conference Tuesday morning, President Barack Obama said it is imperative for citizens to listen to their local governments as Tropical Storm Isaac approaches and nears hurricane strength.
The Washington Post
Correction:
Clarification: ||||| Add a location to your Tweets
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– President Obama kept his advice for Gulf residents short and sweet in a press conference today, which came complete with one line that nearly all media outlets are seizing on: "Now is not the time to tempt fate." He made that along with a few other comments at the White House, following a briefing by Janet Napolitano and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. "I encourage all residents of the Gulf Coat to listen to local officials and follow their directions, including if they tell you to evacuate. We're dealing with a big storm. Now is not the time to tempt fate, and now is not the time to dismiss official warnings. You need to take this seriously." Obama had earlier declared a state of emergency in Louisiana. Meanwhile, Isaac gets nearer to hurricane status, per the National Hurricane Center's Twitter feed. Its latest tweet reads: "Tropical Storm # Isaac Intermediate advisory 29A issued. Reconnaissance aircraft find isaac nearly a hurricane"
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NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address. ||||| It’s clear that your working memory — which holds attention on small things of short-term importance — works, or you wouldn’t be able to remember a new phone number long enough to dial it.
Describing how it works, however — how the brain determines what to keep in mind, and what to set aside but keep handy for quick access — is a work in progress. Work that may sharpen our theory of the mind and even help people suffering from schizophrenia or depression.
“A lot of mental illness is associated with the inability to choose what to think about,” says Brad Postle , a psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “What we’re taking are first steps toward looking at the mechanisms that give us control over what we think about.”
Postle’s lab is challenging the idea that working memory remembers things through sustained brain activity. They caught brains tucking less-important information away somewhere beyond the reach of the tools that typically monitor brain activity — and then they snapped that information back into active attention with magnets.
Their latest study will be published Dec. 2 in the journal Science.
According to Postle, it’s important to note that most people feel they are able to concentrate on a lot more than their working memory can actually hold. It’s a bit like vision, in which it feels like we’re seeing everything in our field of view, but details slip away unless you re-focus on them regularly.
“The notion that you’re aware of everything all the time is a sort of illusion your consciousness creates,” says Postle. “That is true for thinking, too. You have the impression that you’re thinking of a lot of things at once, holding them all in your mind. But lots of research shows us you’re probably only actually attending to — are conscious of in any given moment — just a very small number of things.”
Postle’s group conducted a series of experiments in which people were asked to remember two items representing different types of information (they used words, faces and directions of motion) because they’d be tested on their memories.
When the researchers gave their subjects a cue as to the type of question coming — a face, for example, instead of a word — the electrical activity and blood flow in the brain associated with the word memory disappeared. But if a second cue came letting the subject know they would now be asked about that word, the brain activity would jump back up to a level indicating it was the focus of attention.
“People have always thought neurons would have to keep firing to hold something in memory. Most models of the brain assume that,” says Postle. “But we’re watching people remember things almost perfectly without showing any of the activity that would come with a neuron firing. The fact that you’re able to bring it back at all in this example proves it’s not gone. It’s just that we can’t see evidence for its active retention in the brain.”
The researchers were also able to bring the seemingly abandoned items back to mind without cueing their subjects. Using a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to apply a focused electromagnetic field to a precise part of the brain involved in storing the word, they could trigger the sort of brain activity representative of focused attention.
Furthermore, if they cued their research subjects to focus on a face (causing brain activity associated with the word to drop off), a well-timed pulse of transcranial magnetic stimulation would snap the stowed memory back into attention, and prompt the subjects to incorrectly think that they had been cued to focus on the word.
“We think that memory is there, but not active,” says Postle, whose work is supported by the National Institute of Mental Health. “More than just showing us it’s there, the TMS can actually make that memory temporarily active again.”
The study — conducted by Postle with Nathan Rose, a former UW–Madison postdoctoral researcher who is now a professor of psychology at the University of Notre Dame, and UW–Madison graduate students in psychology and neuroscience — suggests a state of memory apart from the spotlight attention of active working memory and the deep storage of more significant things in long-term memory.
“What’s still unknown here is how the brain determines what falls away, and what enables you to retrieve things in the short-term if you need them,” Postle says.
Studying how the brain apportions attention could eventually influence the way we understand and treat mental health disorders such as schizophrenia, in which patients focus on hallucinations instead of reality, and depression, which seems strongly related to spending an unhealthy amount of time dwelling on negative things.
“We are making some interesting progress with very basic research,” says Postle. “But you can picture a point at which this work could help people control their attention, choose what they think about, and manage or overcome some very serious problems associated with a lack of control.” ||||| Zap! Magnet Study Offers Fresh Insights Into How Memory Works
Enlarge this image Fanatic Studio/Collection Mix: Sub/Getty Images Fanatic Studio/Collection Mix: Sub/Getty Images
Forget where you just left your car keys? A magnetic pulse might help you remember.
Some dormant memories can be revived by delivering a pulse of magnetic energy to the right brain cells, researchers report Thursday in the journal Science.
The finding is part of a study that suggests the brain's "working memory" system is far less volatile than scientists once thought.
"This changes how we think about the structure of working memory and the processes that support it," says Nathan Rose, a neurocognitive psychologist studying memory at the University of Notre Dame and one of the authors of the research.
Working memory, he explains, is what allows the brain to retain a new piece of information even when our attention is temporarily directed elsewhere.
Say you're at a cocktail party, for example. You meet two people, learn their names, and start a conversation. As you talk, the conversation shifts to just one of those people.
"But you don't want to forget who the other person is, in case the conversation shifts back," Rose says. And, usually, you don't forget, because your brain has been keeping the name in working memory — ready to use at a moment's notice.
Since the 1950s, the dominant theory about working memory has been that it required continuous activity in the brain cells associated with a particular item, like someone's name. If the activity level dropped, the memory was gone forever, scientists figured.
But Rose and a team of researchers weren't so sure. So they did a series of experiments.
In one, people watched a screen while researchers monitored the activity in their brains.
"We presented two items — like a face and a word," Rose says. The participants were told they needed to remember both.
That caused a distinct pattern of activity in two groups of brain cells: one that was keeping track of the face and another that was keeping track of the word.
But then, Rose says, the researchers had people focus on just one of the items they'd seen. And when they did that, the brain activity associated with the other item disappeared.
"It was almost as if the item had been forgotten," Rose says.
But it wasn't forgotten. When prompted, the participants were able to retrieve their memory of the item. And that caused the associated brain cells to start firing again.
Then the researchers provided an even more dramatic demonstration. They used transcranial magnetic stimulation (via an electromagnetic coil held to the forehead) to deliver a pulse of energy to the brain.
"And when we did that, we saw a brief reactivation of the unattended memory item, as if it was brought back into focal attention," Rose says. The technique only worked, though, if people believed they would need to remember the item at some later time.
This ability to revive a thought with a magnetic pulse quickly became known as "the Frankenstein effect" among scientists in the lab, Rose says.
The results offer strong evidence that brain cells don't have to remain active to sustain a working memory, Rose says. But he's concerned that the public will assume magnetic stimulation can help them recover memories.
"Boy, wouldn't that be great?" he says. "But I think we're a ways away from that."
What's closer, though, is a better understanding of how short-term memory works.
The study strongly suggests that working memories can be stored by changing the connections among neurons, says Joel Voss, a brain scientist at Northwestern University who was not involved in the research
"If you imagine that a particular set of connections can represent a memory, then that set of connections could be reconfigured," he says. "And it could stay in that configuration, even if the neurons aren't persistently active."
Scientists believe that's how long-term memories are stored. And if some short-term memories also use this mechanism, it could explain how they can become long-term memories.
"In order for a long-term memory to happen there has to be some physical trace of that memory," he says. And that's exactly what the study seems to have found.
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– Scientists have a new theory about how the brain processes memories, one that holds the promise—someday—of helping those with depression and other mental illnesses. The study out of the University of Wisconsin focused on working memory, which covers immediate stuff like new phone numbers or where we left our car keys. The prevailing theory on this type of memory has long been that the information disappears if a person tucks it away and doesn't think about it for a while. But the researchers found that the memory does, in fact, remain stored in the brain and can be essentially zapped back into play through magnetic stimulation to specific cells, they report in Science. No, this doesn't mean that a brain zapper is in the offing to help you remember stuff, but researchers say the implications are still potentially large. "This changes how we think about the structure of working memory and the processes that support it," says co-author Nathan Rose, per NPR. Another researcher, Brad Postle, explains why this could be a big deal down the road for those suffering from illnesses such as schizophrenia. "A lot of mental illness is associated with the inability to choose what to think about," he says. "What we’re taking are first steps toward looking at the mechanisms that give us control over what we think about." It's still a long way off, but the general idea would be to help people redirect their focus; in the case of schizophrenics, that would involve shifting from hallucinations to reality. (Apparently pretty faces can help memory, too.)
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The baby's heart starts to beat at around 6 weeks. You may be able to hear – and see – your baby's heart beat for the first time when you're about 8 weeks pregnant if you have an early ultrasound exam.
Otherwise, you'll probably first hear it with a fetal Doppler at a regular prenatal care visit. Your caregiver may be able to find it with the Doppler as early as 10 weeks, but it's more common to hear it at 12 weeks. How early the sound can be picked up depends on your baby's position in your uterus, your weight, and the accuracy of your due date.
Checking your baby's heartbeat will become a regular part of every prenatal visit. Here are a few other things you may want to know:
What is a fetal Doppler? The fetal Doppler is a handheld ultrasound baby heartbeat monitor that your caregiver can use to find your baby's heartbeat. She'll cover it with ultrasound gel and move it around on your belly until she finds a spot where the heartbeat can be detected. The Doppler sends and receives sound waves that bounce off your baby's heart. In this way the fetal Doppler makes your baby's heartbeats loud enough for you to hear.
The fetal Doppler is a handheld ultrasound baby heartbeat monitor that your caregiver can use to find your baby's heartbeat. She'll cover it with ultrasound gel and move it around on your belly until she finds a spot where the heartbeat can be detected. The Doppler sends and receives sound waves that bounce off your baby's heart. In this way the fetal Doppler makes your baby's heartbeats loud enough for you to hear. Can I rent or buy a fetal Doppler? Yes, you can rent or buy a Doppler for home use. However, some experts think a home Doppler isn't a good idea, because it can take considerable training and practice to find and correctly identify a baby's heartbeat.
Yes, you can rent or buy a Doppler for home use. However, some experts think a home Doppler isn't a good idea, because it can take considerable training and practice to find and correctly identify a baby's heartbeat. What does my baby's heartbeat sound like? Many women say that the beating of their baby's tiny heart sounds like the thunder of galloping horses. Hearing it for the first time can be very moving. The heart rate of a healthy baby in the womb ranges from about 120 to 160 beats per minute. A heartbeat that's much faster or slower than that may signal heart problem.
Inside pregnancy: Weeks 1 to 9
Learn more:
Baby development in the first trimester
Talk about your baby's heartbeat with other BabyCenter parents ||||| COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio Senators, mostly along party lines, voted Tuesday to ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually about six weeks into a pregnancy.
Republican lawmakers inserted the anti-abortion "heartbeat bill" language at the last minute into a bill revising state child abuse and neglect laws. The bill previously cleared the House, so it will not receive additional hearings.
The House is expected to vote on the bill Tuesday night. If signed by Gov. John Kasich, the legislation would make Ohio's abortion laws the most restrictive in the nation. But the bill has split abortion foes.
Critics, including Ohio Right to Life, have long said they're sympathetic to the effort, but assert it would not survive a constitutional challenge.
For that reason, the Senate previously declined to act on the heartbeat bill. Senate President Keith Faber told reporters numerous times that the legislation would be found unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.
What changed for Faber?
Donald Trump was elected, Faber told reporters after session, and he will have the opportunity to appoint at least one conservative justice to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"He's changed the dynamic and there was a consensus in our caucus to move forward," Faber said.
The bill was approved in a 20-10 vote, with Republican Sens. Gayle Manning of North Ridgeville and Bill Coley of Liberty Township voting with Democrats against the bill.
Ohio Right to Life, the state's largest anti-abortion lobby, has opposed the bill because of concerns about constitutionality. Kasich said in 2014 he shared those concerns.
Federal courts blocked similar laws in North Dakota and Arkansas. The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld those lower-court rulings.
Democrats, abortion rights advocates oppose bill
Sen. Kris Jordan, an Ostrander Republican, offered the amendment to a bill that updated state child abuse reporting laws.
"We in this chamber discuss the opportunities for children all in the context of education, medication and infant mortality," Jordan said on the Senate floor. "But through our inaction we ensure that some children won't have the most important opportunity of all -- the opportunity to live."
Sen. Capri Cafaro, Hubbard Democrat, said government should not make medical decisions for women.
"We have no way of anticipating the reasons why women and their families and their doctors and their gods come to the decision they make about their body to terminate a pregnancy," Cafaro said.
Iris Harvey, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, said legislators are wasting taxpayers' money by passing bills that will not hold up in court.
"To slip it in at the last minute where there's no comment and no opportunity for people to really voice their opinion says we can't trust our legislators," Harvey said in an interview.
A pair of abortion bills
The heartbeat language effectively bans abortion six weeks into a woman's pregnancy, before many women find out they are pregnant. The language provides an exception for when the mother's life is threatened but does not provide exceptions for victims of rape or incest.
The heartbeat bill cleared the House in March 2015, in a 55-40 vote. It never had a hearing in the Senate.
Meanwhile, a 20-week abortion ban cleared the Ohio Senate in June 2015 but hasn't moved in the Ohio House. Faber said an agreement had been reached with the House to pass that bill.
Current Ohio law bans abortion after 24 weeks gestation, and less than 1 percent of all abortions conducted in 2015 happened after 21 weeks gestation.
Both could be on Kasich's desk at the same time.
The child abuse bill contains an appropriation, so Kasich would have line-item veto power when signing the bill containing the heartbeat language.
Last-minute maneuver
Senate Democrats protested the amendment's late filing and relevancy to the child abuse bill. Faber insisted the amendment was filed according to Senate rules, which require amendments to be filed at least 90 minutes before session.
Democrats said they were notified of the amendment at 12:24 p.m. and that it had been filed at 12:10 p.m. Session was scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m., but didn't convene until closer to 1:41 p.m.
Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni said he asked Faber and other leaders at 11:15 a.m. whether there was anything new for discussion and was told no.
Divided advocates
Janet Porter, president of Faith 2 Action, said supporters sent more than 25,000 emails and flooded lawmakers' phone lines urging action on the bill. Porter said Tuesday that she's confident Trump will appoint several, anti-abortion justices to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"It's a brand new day and we believe that by the time this Ohio heartbeat law gets to the Supreme Court it will be upheld in its entirety," Porter said.
Ohio Right to Life President Michael Gonidakis disagreed, noting Trump will only have one justice to replace when he enters office. Adding a conservative justice would take the court from a 5-3 split to a 5-4 split supporting abortion rights.
"You have to be cautious in your approach and if you overreach the courts will set you back and be very fierce against you," Gonidakis said. "Of course we want to save every baby with a beating heart, but we have to deal with the U.S. Supreme Court that is not in our favor." ||||| Roe v. Wade: The Constitutional Right to Access Safe, Legal Abortion
Despite persistent attacks by anti-women's health politicians, support for Roe v. Wade and access to safe, legal abortion is at a record high.
Roe v. Wade affirms the constitutional right to access safe, legal abortion. The case was decided by the Supreme Court on January 22, 1973. More than 40 years later, Americans overwhelmingly support the decision.
Today, 72 percent of Americans — including a majority of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans — don’t want to see Roe v. Wade overturned. The data is clear: Despite attacks on our rights, Americans support Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to access abortion.
Abortion Access: Then & Now
Roe wasn’t the beginning of abortion in America — rather, it allowed people to access abortion legally and prevented people dying from unsafe, illegal abortions.
In 1965, illegal abortions made up one-sixth of all pregnancy- and childbirth-related deaths. A survey conducted in the1960s found that eight in 10 women with low incomes in New York City who had an abortion attempted a dangerous self-induced procedure.
But now that abortion is a legal right thanks to Roe, it’s become one of the safest medical procedures in the United States — with a safety record of over 99 percent. Also, because abortion is legal, people who decide to have an abortion can receive support throughout the process from medical professionals.
Attacks on Roe v. Wade
The right to safe and legal abortion has been the law of the land for more than 40 years, and is a part of the fabric of this country. Roe v. Wade is clearly established precedent, and it shouldn’t be up for debate. And yet, opponents of abortion have made it increasingly harder for people to access — and these threats are not slowing down.
Brett Kavanaugh's Confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court
Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court dealt a huge blow to our right to access safe, legal abortion. Kavanaugh was nominated by President Trump, who had previously made a clear promise to nominate judges who would "automatically" overturn Roe v. Wade. Kavanaugh's nomination was widely celebrated by anti-abortion groups as an opportunity to do just that.
Prior to joining the Supreme Court, Kavanaugh had a long record of ruling to limit access to safe, legal abortion:
Just last year, he tried to use his judicial power to prevent a young undocumented woman in U.S. custody from accessing a safe, legal abortion.
He praised a dissent in Roe v. Wade, calling the constitutional right to abortion a "freewheeling" reading of the Constitution.
When the Senate asked Kavanaugh whether Roe v. Wade was decided correctly or whether he recognizes the right to privacy, he repeatedly dodged the question.
Recently leaked emails show that Kavanaugh doesn't consider Roe v. Wade to be settled law — or consider it safe from being overturned.
There are currently 13 abortion cases that are one step away from the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh would likely have the chance to rule on one of these pivotal abortion cases as soon as his first year on the bench. His rulings could limit our access to safe, legal abortion for generations to come.
With Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, access to abortion across the country is at risk. Twenty states are poised to ban abortion should Roe v. Wade be overturned, threatening access for more than 25 million women — or a third of all women of reproductive age in this country. learn more
Looming Abortion Restrictions
As part of a broader effort to chip away at Roe v. Wade and ultimately ban abortion nationwide, anti-abortion politicians have been pushing a variety of bills in Congress that would restrict access to abortion at any point during pregnancy. That includes efforts to pass a harmful nationwide ban on all abortions at 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Existing Federal Abortion Ban
An abortion ban that became law in 2003 and upheld by the Supreme Court in 2007 criminalizes certain abortion procedures in the second trimester of pregnancy — procedures that doctors say are often the safest and best to protect women's health.
State Attacks on Roe v. Wade
In Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that the U.S. Constitution protects a person's right to make their own medical decisions, including the decision to have an abortion. In the more than 40 years following that landmark ruling — in decisions including Casey v. Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania and Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt — the Supreme Court has never wavered from this principle.
Despite this precedent and Americans' consistent support for Roe v. Wade, anti-women’s health state legislators continue to attack abortion access through ballot measures and legislative restrictions.
Since 2011, politicians have passed more than 400 new state abortion restrictions that shame, pressure, and punish people who have decided to have an abortion. In the first quarter of 2018, 37 states introduced 308 new abortion restrictions. Many of these laws blatantly flout Supreme Court precedent — such as in Missouri, where politicians are trying to enforce abortion restrictions nearly identical to the Texas laws that were found to be unconstitutional just two years ago.
Currently, 20 states are poised to ban access to abortion should Roe v. Wade be overturned, threatening access for more than 25 million women. That's more than a third of women of reproductive age in this country. It includes:
More than 4.3 million Hispanic or Latino women
Nearly 3.5 million Black or African American women
More than 800,000 Asian women
Nearly 300,000 American Indian or Alaska Native women
These 20 states a risk of overturning Roe v. Wade are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Some of these states have existing pre-Roe abortion bans or trigger laws that could ban abortion immediately if Roe's overturned. These are also states with anti-abortion politicians in power and an established history of passing abortion restrictions.
Americans Support Roe v. Wade and Don't Want it Overturned
Support for access to safe, legal abortion is at a record high.
72 percent of Americans don’t want to see Roe v. Wade overturned.
That's the highest rate since the case was decided more than 45 years ago, and it includes people who voted for Trump.
Across the political spectrum, Americans oppose overturning Roe v. Wade.
Support for Roe v. Wade by political party includes:
53 percent of Republicans
76 percent of Independents
86 percent of Democrats
Moderates overwhelmingly support Roe v. Wade. That includes:
71 percent of self-described moderate Republicans and liberal Republicans
82 percent of moderate and conservative Democrats
Roe v. Wade has strong support from Catholic Americans.
Six in 10 Catholics support the decision.
Young people are especially supportive of Roe v. Wade.
And their approval is higher than ever. Eighty-two percent of 18-29 year olds support Roe v. Wade.
People of color overwhelmingly support Roe v. Wade. That includes:
79 percent of African Americans
71 percent of Latinxs
74 percent of Asians/Pacific Islanders
Americans simply don't believe that politicians or judges should be making personal decisions for people about their pregnancies.
Ensuring That Women Have Health Care, No Matter What
Planned Parenthood is America’s most trusted provider of reproductive health care. Planned Parenthood’s expert health care professionals are dedicated to offering all people high-quality, affordable medical care.
One in five American women has chosen Planned Parenthood for health care at least once in her life. Planned Parenthood knows firsthand why it’s so critical that everyone have access to a comprehensive range of reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion. ||||| CLOSE Skip in Skip x Embed x Share Ohio lawmakers have approved a bill that bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. If this bill becomes law, it could be one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the United States. USA TODAY
Protesters from both sides of the abortion debate lined up in front of the Hamilton County Courthouse in downtown Cincinnati in this 2014 file photo. (Photo: Liz Dufour, The Cincinnati Enquirer)
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio would have the country's most restrictive abortion laws under a bill sent to Gov. John Kasich on Tuesday, as leading Republicans were emboldened by the anticipation of Donald Trump's upcoming federal and Supreme court appointments.
If signed by Kasich, the so-called "heartbeat bill" would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks' gestation. The proposal would not exempt pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, but does include an exception for an abortion to save the life of the pregnant woman.
The change would put the state in violation of current constitutional standards for abortion rights.
For years, Kasich, leading Republican senators and Ohio Right to Life have cited its unconstitutionality as their reason for opposing the heartbeat measure. Federal courts have struck down similar laws in North Dakota and Arkansas.
Senate President Keith Faber, a Republican from Celina, Ohio, even suggested last year that supporters of the heartbeat bill ultimately were undermining efforts "to save babies."
On Tuesday, Senate Republicans changed course. Faber cited Trump's election to the presidency as justification for his change of heart, saying the effort could have a shot in the courts with Trump's appointees. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that states cannot prohibit abortions unless a fetus is viable outside the womb, generally accepted as 24 weeks' gestation.
Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis was skeptical of Faber's logic that Trump's presidency would dramatically change the heartbeat bill's chances. The abortion-opponent group instead favors passage of a ban on abortions after 20 weeks' gestation as the vehicle for overturning Roe v. Wade.
"Everyone is swept up in Trumpmania, but let's be realistic," said Gonidakis.
Republican Sens. Bill Seitz and Bill Coley were among the three Republicans who voted against the Senate's decision to add the abortion ban into a separate bill, which would make changes to the way child abuse and neglect are reported.
"The sad reality of this bill passing will be that we spend millions of taxpayer dollars on attorney fees for a bill that has zero chance of becoming law," said Coley, who voted against the bill. "My biggest fear is that some of the great work that we have done in protecting life here in Ohio will be jeopardized."
But newly elected Rep. Candice Keller, a Republican from Middletown, said she was sent to Columbus to pass legislation like the heartbeat bill. "I have waited years for this bill," said Keller, who runs the Community Pregnancy Center.
Democrats railed against the last-minute changes. "You might as well call me a baby killer," said Rep. Teresa Fedor, a Democrat from Toledo, who had revealed her rape and subsequent abortion. "There’s no (rape) exception to this legislation and you know it."
Others found fault with Faber's change of heart. "The president-elect has not taken office. The president-elect has not selected any Supreme Court justices, and there are not enough vacancies to make a change," said Sen. Charleta Tavares, a Democrat from Columbus. Still, the amended child abuse bill passed the Senate 21-10.
Late Tuesday, the House passed the bill, 56-39, sending the ban to the governor. Seven House Republicans opposed the bill and two Democrats voted for it.
Kasich must decide whether to veto the abortion ban. The child abuse legislation contains an appropriation of tax revenue, so Kasich would have the authority to line-item veto the heartbeat bill if he wanted. Lawmakers plan to pass a 20-week ban as well, so Kasich could veto the stricter abortion ban while still tightening Ohio's restrictions on abortion.
The Republican governor opposes abortion, but has voiced doubts about the heartbeat bill in the past.
"I share the concerns of Right to Life about this bill and about potential litigation," Kasich told reporters last year. He declined to comment Tuesday through a spokeswoman.
Follow Jessie Balmert and Chrissie Thompson on Twitter: @jbalmert and @CThompsonENQ
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– Gov. John Kasich has a new bill on his desk, and if he signs it, Ohio will have the toughest abortion laws in the US, USA Today reports. The "heartbeat bill," which bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is found (sometimes as early as six weeks), doesn't allow for rape or incest exceptions, though abortions to save the mother's life are OK. Per Cleveland.com, the bill was unexpectedly shoehorned Tuesday into child abuse and child neglect legislation, with Kasich able to veto just that item or refuse the entire deal. Ohio Republicans, including Kasich, had previously balked at such a bill, feeling it wouldn't stand up to constitutional challenges—Roe v. Wade makes it illegal for states to ban abortions before a fetus is viable—but some feel empowered by the coming Trump presidency and a future Trump Supreme Court pick. "[Trump has] changed the dynamic," GOP state Senate President Keith Faber told reporters, per Cleveland.com. Not surprisingly, abortion rights supporters are speaking out against the development, including Democratic Rep. Teresa Fedor, who last year spoke about her rape and abortion. "You might as well call me a baby killer," she says, per USA Today. Others take issue with the bill's 11th-hour passage. "To slip it in at the last minute where there's ... no opportunity for people to really voice their opinion says we can't trust our legislators," Iris Harvey, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, tells Cleveland.com. One GOPer still not sure this bill is the way to go is Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis. "Everyone is swept up in Trumpmania, but let's be realistic," he tells USA Today. He'd prefer a ban on abortions after 20 weeks' gestation, a bill Kasich could approve instead of this one when and if such a bill ever makes its way to him. (In Texas, fetal remains must be cremated or buried.)
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NAACP blasts Stamford’s response to racist incident
Jack Bryant, president of the NAACP's Stamford chapter, speaks during a press conference in front of the High Clear Dr. home where a racial slur was painted on the garage in Stamford, Conn. on Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. The incident happened in mid-January and the word still remains. less Jack Bryant, president of the NAACP's Stamford chapter, speaks during a press conference in front of the High Clear Dr. home where a racial slur was painted on the garage in Stamford, Conn. on Monday, Feb. 20, ... more Photo: Michael Cummo / Hearst Connecticut Media Buy photo Photo: Michael Cummo / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close NAACP blasts Stamford’s response to racist incident 1 / 13 Back to Gallery
STAMFORD — More than a month after an interracial couple found a highly offensive slur spray painted on their garage door, the Bulls Head residents now say they are under attack by the very people who they hoped would protect them.
The City of Stamford has issued the couple a blight citation, which carries a $100 daily fine, for failing to remove or cover up the N-word in front of their home.
Homeowner Heather Lindsay, who is white, said she won’t remove the racial slur from her garage door until authorities “do their job” and “not just cover it up and sweep it under the table as they have done in the past.”
Lindsay said her home on High Clear Drive has been vandalized several times and at least three of her neighbors have yelled the N-word at her husband, Lexene Charles, who is black.
Several friends and representatives of the local and state NAACP chapters held a news conference outside the couple’s home Monday morning to condemn the Jan. 14 incident and denounce the city’s response.
“For them to be called nig----, it must be so hurtful that they can easily just erase the board and suffer within, quietly by themselves, and act like nothing happened,” said Darnell Crosland, legal counsel for the state NAACP. “And in fact, that’s what the Stamford police asked them to do. They were requested to take the sign down... and to just act normal, like nothing happened.”
More Information "You are directed to remove, correct, or abate the above violations within seven (7) calendar days from the date of this notice. Any failure to remove, correct or abate the violations, shall result in the issuance of a citation in accordance with the ordinance with fines imposed of one hundred dollars ($100.00) per day for each day the Blighted Property remains in violation, which can be enforceable as a lien on your property, and which may also be converted into a Court Judgement, and may cause the removal or abatement of the violation at your expense." Excerpt from a notice of blight violation issued by the City of Stamford’s Office of Operations on Feb. 7, 2017.
The attorney called on the Stamford Police Department to conduct a full investigation of the incident and assure the couple that they are safe.
“What we want you do to is to go canvass this neighborhood and find out who did this,” Crosland said. “What we want you to do is to put a patrol car out here and act like you give a damn, and make sure these people are protected.”
No witnesses
Authorities said they are fully investigating the case.
“The incident that occurred is disgusting and it is something the Stamford Police Department continues to have under investigation,” Ted Jankowski, the city’s director of public safety, said in an emailed statement.
Jankowski said officers spoke with the homeowner and neighbors but could not find a witness who saw or heard anyone spray painting the sheet-metal garage door. The few security cameras in the are did not capture the incident, he said.
The police department has repeatedly offered to remove the racial slur from the property at no cost and Chief Jon Fontneau personally spoke with the couple, but the homeowner has refused the offer, Jankowski said.
“The neighbors were very upset when the incident occurred and truly felt for the couple,” Jankowski wrote. “However, the residents who have condemned the racial incident are upset and are complaining about continuing to see the racial slur and how it is disturbing the peace in the quiet neighborhood.”
’Lasting effect’
One of the neighbors said Monday she does not remember seeing a similar racist incident in the neighborhood since she moved there in the 1970s. Another neighbor, Paul Evanko, said he understands the seriousness of the incident, but he hopes the word gets covered soon.
“There are kids in this neighborhood,” he said. “Why do we have to subject them to that?”
Crosland said removing the word could make the home a target again.
“We say ‘no’ to that,” he said. “They’re not going to suffer alone. We’re going to suffer with them.”
Lindsay, who’s lived in the home since 1990, has a foreclosure trial on her house scheduled for March 7. The woman said she’s also been served with other blight notices because of what she described as unfounded complaints from some of her neighbors.
Lindsay said she and her husband, who moved in with her in 1999, have not been able to sleep since the racial slur was painted on their garage on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday weekend.
Their supporters on Monday urged authorities to question at least three specific neighbors who Lindsay said have discriminated against the couple in the past.
“We want those people investigated,” said Andre Cayo, the family’s attorney. “We want those doors knocked on. We want their basements to be searched for spray cans.”
Jack Bryant, president of the Stamford NAACP, said the slur is “profoundly offensive” and a “scathing insult” that will have “a lasting effect not only on the family residing in that house, but also on Stamford as a community.”
“One of Stamford’s strengths is the diversity of its population,” he said. “We all should feel safe and comfortable living here, no matter what race.”
[email protected], 203-964-2265, @olivnelson ||||| Lexene Charles and Heather Lindsay say they're keeping the graffiti up despite opposition from the city of Stamford. (Published Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017)
Couple in Legal Battle for Refusing to Remove Racial Slur From Garage Door
A Connecticut couple whose garage door was spray-painted with a racial slur now faces hundreds of dollars in fines for refusing to remove it.
Lexene Charles, 56, and his common-law wife, Heather Lindsay, 59, discovered the graffiti on their Stamford home last month.
"Our civil rights are being violated," Lindsay told a local newspaper when the garage was first vandalized.
Police had originally placed a tarp over the door, but it had been removed.
The couple says they’ve left the slur scrawled across their garage so the community doesn’t forget what happened.
The couple has refused to remove the n-word from their garage door. They found it spray-painted there last month.
The move hasn’t been sitting well with police, who have issued a blight citation. The City of Stamford has fined the couple $100 for each day the slur stays on their garage door.
Stamford Chief of Police Jonathan Fontneau also visited their home and said they face arrest in addition to the fines.
Charles and Lindsay say they aren’t changing their minds and will fight the fines in court.
Top News: Trump in Poland as G20 Protests Begin
Lindsay said this isn't the first time there has been problems with the property.
"We aren’t going to let it bother us, because from what we are understanding as it sinks in, as we cry, and as we talk about it, this is just saying the way we have been treated," said Lindsay. "This is how Stamford, Conn. is treating us."
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– When Heather Lindsay and Lexene Charles discovered the n-word painted across their garage door on the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, they decided to leave it up in plain view. The interracial couple says their home in Stamford, Conn., has been vandalized several times and at least three neighbors have shouted the n-word at Charles, but Lindsay tells the Stamford Advocate that police have been unresponsive. This time, the couple chose to leave the graffiti for the whole neighborhood to see—and they now face a hefty fine and possibily jail as a result. Stamford's police chief says the couple faces arrest and a fine of $100 per day if they don't respond to the city's blight citation, reports NBC New York. The city's director of public safety calls the graffiti "disgusting" but says that no witnesses have been found and that neighbors are complaining. "There are kids in this neighborhood," says one. "Why do we have to subject them to that?" But Lindsay, 59, says the graffiti won't be removed until police "do their job" and "not just cover it up … as they have done in the past." It "has to stop," Charles, 56, tells ABC 7. The couple, who plan to fight any fines in court, are now asking police to investigate certain neighbors. "Act like you give a damn and make sure these people are protected," says a NAACP rep. (A community rallied after a similar incident in Tenino, Wash.)
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Image caption The man is suspected of inciting youths to rise up against the army after the fall of President Mubarak
Israel has denied Egyptian claims that a suspected Mossad spy was arrested in Cairo, calling them false and baseless.
Egypt's state prosecutor detained the man on Sunday on suspicion of "spying on Egypt with the aim of harming its economic and political interests", the official Mena news agency reported.
Mena said the man posed as a foreign correspondent covering anti-government protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
He tried to sow sectarian strife and turn people against the army, it said.
President Hosni Mubarak stepped down on 11 February, after a three-week uprising against his nearly 30-year rule.
The suspect's aim was to "spread chaos" and cause a "security breakdown" in the days following Mr Mubarak's departure, a statement issued by Egypt's public prosecutor said.
New Egypt
Israeli officials have denied the allegations.
"There is no such thing, no Israeli agent has been arrested in Egypt," foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told the BBC on Monday.
"These reports are false. So far we did not receive any information from the Egyptian authorities on an Israeli citizen who has been arrested," he added.
Following the departure of Mr Mubarak - who co-operated with Israel on security matters - tensions have flared between the two neighbours.
Cairo's new military rulers have eased restrictions at a Gaza border crossing that Mr Mubarak had kept tightly controlled.
There has also been pressure on Egypt's military council to cancel or alter a contract under which Egypt sells natural gas to Israel.
Critics say the price is too low, and that Mr Mubarak's associates took bribes to seal the deal.
Egypt resumed pumping gas on Friday after a pipeline blast halted the flow of gas to Israel.
Last month, Egyptian authorities arrested an Iranian diplomat on suspicion of spying during the popular uprising.
The diplomat - who had diplomatic immunity - was released with days and flown out of Cairo. ||||| JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The father of a man Egypt has arrested as an Israeli spy said Monday his son was a student who volunteered for a U.S. refugee agency and described Egypt's allegations as "totally delusional."
Ilan Grapel, a U.S. immigrant to Israel, was detained on Sunday in a development that could strain Israel's relations with Egypt's new leaders.
"This whole story is totally delusional as far as I am concerned ... any connection to working with the Mossad (the Israeli spy agency) is(wrong)," Daniel Grapel, Ilan's father told Israeli Channel 2 in an interview in Hebrew from his home in New York.
Ilan Grapel once wrote that he hoped to promote Israeli policies in the Arab world, according to information he and others posted on websites. Daniel Grapel said his son was working in Egypt as part of his university studies.
"He is volunteering as part of his studies and he gets (academic) credits for summer work ... He had to stay in Egypt for three months as part of the American agency that is connected with transferring refugees from Egypt," he said.
Grapel's mother, Irene, said her son had worked for Saint Andrew's Refugee Services, a non-governmental organization, in Cairo, adding that he holds U.S. and Israeli citizenship.
On his Facebook page, Grapel made no secret of his presence in Egypt, writing that he was "preaching at al-Azhar," an Islamic university in Cairo, and that he had studied at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. The reference to al-Azhar later disappeared from the page.
CONSULAR VISIT
The U.S. embassy in Cairo confirmed 27-year-old Grapel had been detained Sunday. "A consular officer visited Mr Grapel on June 13 and confirmed that he was in good health," the embassy said in a statement.
Israel's ambassador to Cairo said Monday Israel was looking into the case.
A Egyptian judiciary source said Grapel had been active in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the revolt against Hosni Mubarak, after the former president stepped down.
A statement issued by Egypt's public prosecutor said the suspect, ordered held for 15 days, had been sent to Egypt to recruit agents "trying to gather information and data and to monitor the events of the January 25 revolution."
Ex-Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, a former pointman in Israel's relations with Egypt, told Israel Radio he hoped the arrest was not an attempt to "put peace into total freeze." Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979 which ordinary Israelis refer to as "the cold peace."
Photographs of Grapel on the Facebook page, on the website of the Israel Project -- a pro-Israel group where he trained in media relations in 2008 -- and in the online newsletter of an organization that raises funds for Israeli soldiers, matched those in a video clip of the suspect released by Egypt.
Articles about Grapel's military service in Israel appeared in the New York Daily News and Israel's Haaretz newspaper in 2006. They said he had been wounded in the Lebanon war that year while serving as an Israeli paratrooper and had immigrated to Israel in 2005 from Queens, New York, at the age of 22.
"He is a very special guy. He's an Arabist," Tsiki Ood, who said he was a friend of Grapel's, told Israel Radio, describing him as an American immigrant. "He's very intelligent ... He spoke Arabic. I hope he gets out of this trouble."
After the war, Grapel spoke in the United States at fundraisers for wounded Israeli soldiers, according to the Internet newsletter of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces organization, which also cited his injury in Lebanon.
It showed him in his paratroop uniform standing next to U.S. fundraisers and Israeli diplomats at functions in Chicago and Houston in 2006.
Two years later, Grapel took part in the Israel Project's media fellows program in Jerusalem on "educating top young leaders in how to educate the press on Israel and Iran."
In a comment that appears on the Israel Project's web page about the program, Grapel said he had been impressed by an Israeli Foreign Ministry official's briefing on conveying Israel's positions to the Arab world.
"It would be very rewarding for me if I were to be able to communicate as effectively (as the official) in such anti-Israel environments," Grapel wrote.
(Additional reporting by Ori Lewis, and Edmund Blair in Cairo; Editing by Matthew Jones)
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– Yesterday Egypt arrested an alleged Israeli spy—and today it emerged that Ilan Chaim Grapel is an American who immigrated to Israel, Reuters reports. Egyptian officials say Grapel was sent to Egypt to build a team “trying to gather information and data and to monitor the events of the January 25 revolution." They say Grapel tried to incite violence among Egyptian protestors, hoping to spark a face-off with the military “and spread chaos in the Egyptian public and harm the state's political, economic, and social interests.” Grapel reportedly noted on Facebook that he was preaching at a Cairo Islamic university, a comment that was later removed. Grapel appears to be the same man who told Haaretz he moved to Israel three years before its 2006 war with Lebanon and ended up enlisting in the Israeli Defense Force. Israel, however, denies the reports. “There is no such thing, no Israeli agent has been arrested in Egypt,” an official told the BBC. “These reports are false.”
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A 1,500-year-old church complete with a sophisticated mosaic was uncovered by archaeologists in southern Israel.
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) say the Byzantine-era structure "probably served as a center of Christian worship for neighboring communities."
The discovery was made during a routine salvage excavation conducted by the IAA prior to the construction of a new neighborhood in the area.
The building is approximately 72 feet long by 40 feet wide and consists of a central hall with two side aisles divided by marble pillars. An open courtyard at the front of the structure is paved with a white mosaic floor and a cistern.
Directly off of the courtyard is a rectangular hall with another more intricate mosaic floor with colored geometric designs.
Including among the finds are five inscriptions, one of which mentions Mary and Jesus.
"At its center, opposite the entrance to the main hall, is a twelve-row dedicatory inscription in Greek containing the names Mary and Jesus, and the name of the person who funded the mosaic's construction," archaeologist Daniel Varga said in a press release.
The main hall has a mosaic with depictions of a variety of animals including zebra, leopard, turtle and wild boar. The designs also include Christian symbols.
Archaeologists also discovered glass vessels, oil lamps, amphorae, cooking pots, kraters, and bowls. These finds "indicate a rich and flourishing local culture" during the Byzantine period.
In order to preserve the site, it will be covered with dirt and the IAA is making plans to remove the mosaic floors to be put on display. |||||
The Antiquities Authority recently unearthed a 1,500-year-old Byzantine era church complete with intricate mosaic floors in the South.
The discovery was made during salvage excavations ahead of construction of a neighborhood in the village of Aluma, about 3 km. northwest of Kiryat Gat. The church was part of a settlement located next to the main road running from Ashkelon on the coast to Beit Guvrin and Jerusalem.“An impressive basilica building was discovered at the site, 22 meters long and 12 meters wide,” Dr. Daniel Varga, the archeologist directing the excavations, said.“The building consists of a central hall with two side aisles divided by marble pillars. At the front of the building is a wide open courtyard (atrium) paved with a white mosaic floor, and with a cistern. Leading off the courtyard is a rectangular transverse hall (narthex) with a fine mosaic floor decorated with colored geometric designs; at its center, opposite the entrance to the main hall, is a 12-row dedicatory inscription in Greek containing the names Mary and Jesus, and the name of the person who funded the mosaic’s construction,” he said.The main hall, or nave, of the church, has a colored mosaic floor adorned with vine tendrils to form 40 medallions. The medallions contain images of different animals and botanical and geometric designs and inscriptions in Greek commemorating senior church dignitaries: Demetrios and Herakles, who were heads of the regional church, the authority said. On both sides of the central nave are two narrow aisles with more colored mosaic floors depicting botanical and geometric designs, as well as Christian symbols.A pottery workshop was also uncovered during the excavations, yielding amphorae, bowls, oil lamps and glass vessels typical of the Byzantine period. The Antiquities Authority said these finds “indicate a rich and flourishing local culture.”Because no other churches were found in nearby communities from the same period, the authority inferred that the church may have served as a center for Christian worship for the surrounding communities.To preserve the site, the authority has decided to cover it back up with earth. The intricate mosaic, however, will be removed and displayed to the public.The site will be open to the public this week, on Thursday between noon and 4 p.m. and on Friday between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. To register in advance or receive further details email [email protected]. ||||| A 1,500-year-old church with an impressive mosaic and five inscriptions was uncovered in the south of Israel, the Israel Antiquities Authorities announced Wednesday.
“An impressive basilica building was discovered at the site, 22 meters long and 12 meters wide,” said Daniel Varga, one of the two archaeologists directing the excavations, which were funded by the Israel Land Authority and located near Kiryat Gat. “The building consists of a central hall with two side aisles divided by marble pillars. At the front of the building is a wide open courtyard (atrium) paved with a white mosaic floor, and with a cistern. Leading off the courtyard is a rectangular transverse hall (narthex) with a fine mosaic floor decorated with colored geometric designs; at its center, opposite the entrance to the main hall, is a twelve-row dedicatory inscription in Greek containing the names Mary and Jesus, and the name of the person who funded the mosaic’s construction.”
The mosaic in the nave, or main hall, was especially striking, with 40 medallions depicting a zebra, leopard, turtle, wild boar, birds, and various geometrical designs. The medallions also contain dedicatory inscriptions in honor of two local church figures, Demetrios and Herakles. Two narrow halls to side of the nave also featured colored mosaic floors.
Archaeologists uncovered evidence of a flourishing local Byzantine culture at the site, including a pottery workshop and glass vessels.
The region, near Israel’s southern coastal plain, was home to an important Byzantine settlement. Archaeologists believe that residents produced and sold wine that found its way across the Mediterranean region. The church itself, which served the surrounding towns, sat on the road between Ashkelon and Jerusalem, where archaeologists have uncovered other Byzantine settlements.
This, however, is the first Byzantine church found in the area.
The site, at Moshav Aluma. will be open to the public Thursday and Friday of this week, before it is covered again.
IAA said it will cover over again the remains of the church itself, but it plans on removing the mosaic and putting it on display in a local museum or visitors’ center.
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– Excavators preparing a plot of earth in southern Israel for new construction instead unearthed an impressive 1,500-year-old church, reports Fox News. The structure, about 70 feet long and 40 feet wide, dates to the Byzantine era and still has mosaics with intricate geometric designs in place on its floors, reports the Jerusalem Post. Archeologists also found a pottery workshop, suggesting that the church served as a major community hub in its day. They've turned up Byzantine settlements in the region of Moshav Aluma previously, but this is the first church, reports the Times of Israel. "At its center, opposite the entrance to the main hall, is a twelve-row dedicatory inscription in Greek containing the names Mary and Jesus, and the name of the person who funded the mosaic’s construction," says the Israel Antiquities Authority. The church will get covered up again, but authorities plan to remove the main mosaic for future display.
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Comedian Pauly Shore is the latest to take a crack at impersonating a political figure. In this case, its White House senior policy advisor Stephen Miller in a recent Funny or Die sketch that skewers the recent exchange of words between Miller and CNN’s Jim Acosta during a press briefing which centered on immigration.
The short cuts between footage of Shore as Miller and real footage from the press briefing. The clip riffs on the much talked about debate between Miller and Acosta. In the real footage, Acosta says to Miller “The Statue of Liberty says, ‘give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.'” He then adds, “It doesn’t say anything about speaking English or being able to be a computer programmer.”
Shore jumps in and goes on a so-called history lesson about the Statue of Liberty. After saying that Lady Liberty is holding an iPad, he talks about how Wolverine fought Sabretooth atop of the landmark, which is a nod to 2000’s X-Men. He also goes on to get passionate in his speech by referencing key scenes from Ghostbusters II and Cloverfield that involved the Statue of Liberty before ending with a random clip with an animated version of landmark from Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. ||||| Story highlights Steve Bannon favors the restructuring with Miller in a communications role
Chief of staff John Kelly is eyeing his former Homeland Security spokesperson, David Lapan
Washington (CNN) White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller is being considered for an elevated communications role, a White House official tells CNN.
There are internal discussions that Miller could be elevated to such a role in addition to his current position as an adviser. White House chief strategist Steve Bannon favors the restructuring, but Miller might not necessarily have the title of communications director, the official said.
Meanwhile, CNN has reported that President Donald Trump's new chief of staff, John Kelly, is eyeing his former Homeland Security spokesperson, David Lapan, for the role. Kelly ousted Anthony Scaramucci, who officially held the communications position for five days but was named to the post several days earlier, on Monday.
Two high-level administration sources told CNNMoney that Lapan, who has worked with Kelly for over a decade, is at the top of a short list to serve as the White House's top official on messaging and communications.
Scaramucci was forced to vacate his communications director role following Kelly's swearing in as chief of staff. Kelly delivered the news in a face-to-face meeting with Scaramucci in his office, two people familiar with the sudden turn of events on Monday said, making getting Scaramucci out of the White House one of Kelly's first official acts as chief of staff.
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Stephen Miller (Pauly Shore) responds to CNN’s Jim Acosta on the relevance of the Statue of Liberty to Donald Trump’s new immigration policy.
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– One week after the controversial 10-day tenure of White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci came to a dramatic end, officials in the Trump administration are floating the possibility that senior policy adviser Stephen Miller could get his job, Axios reports. Miller, an immigration hardliner, saw his stock rise in the White House last week after he got into an on-camera argument with CNN reporter Jim Acosta during the daily White House briefing about Trump's support of a Republican plan to cut legal immigration in half. Miller accused Acosta of having "cosmopolitan" views on immigration, apparently pleasing Trump. Though Miller is in the running for the communications job, he is reportedly not at the top of the list. CNN reports that new White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, who ousted Scaramucci last week, is strongly considering his former spokesman at the Department of Homeland Security, David Lapan, who has worked with Kelly for more than a decade. White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon favors Miller for the role. If Miller does get the job, he can look forward to being impersonated again by comedian Pauly Shore, who mocked the White House adviser's briefing performance in a recent Funny or Die video, per Deadline Hollywood.
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The pastor of a prominent Idaho church was shot and critically wounded in the church's parking lot Sunday, a day after he delivered the invocation at a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, authorities told NBC News.
Tim Remington, 55, senior pastor of the nondenominational Altar Church in Coeur d'Alene, was taken to Kootenai Health and Medical Center in critical condition, police and the hospital told NBC News. The hospital reported his status as stable late Sunday night.
Tim Remington, senior pastor of The Altar Church in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, at a church program gathering in 2014. KHQ-TV
Coeur d'Alene police Detective Jared Reneau said that when officers arrived shortly before 2 p.m. (5 p.m. ET), they found Remington with multiple gunshot wounds. Matthew Remington, Remington's nephew, told NBC station KTVB of Boise that his uncle was conscious and was talking to emergency workers on the way to the hospital.
The gunman fled and remains at large. Coeur d'Alene Police identified the suspect late Sunday as Kyle Andrew Odom, 30, a white man in his mid-30s with blond hair and blue eyes. Odom was believed to have been driving a 2004 silver Honda Accord, and police warned he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Coeur d’Alene police detectives have identified Kyle Andrew Odom, of Coeur d’Alene, as the suspect in Sunday's shooting at The Altar Church. Coeur d’Alene Police
Associate pastor John Padula told NBC station KHQ of Spokane, Washington, that there is surveillance of the man waiting in a silver car for Remington. He told The Associated Press that Remington has been threatened several times by some of the drug addicts he works with through his faith-based recovery program.
Padula said the church was praying for the gunman as well as Remington.
"We don't love him less than anybody else," Padula said. "And we pray that he comes to know Jesus Christ as his lord and savior, so we don't want to see anything bad happen to him, either."
Remington, a prominent spokesman for conservative issues, delivered the opening prayer for Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas who is among the leading candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, at a rally Saturday at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds.
Folks are trickling into the CDA Assembly church to pray for pastor Tim @KHQLocalNews pic.twitter.com/liWpECokyv — Katie Chen (@KHQKatieChen) March 7, 2016
"Our prayers are with Pastor Tim, his family, and the doctors who are supervising his care," Catherine Frazier, a spokeswoman for Cruz's campaign, told NBC News. "We pray for his full recovery and are thankful for the efforts of law enforcement to ensure the attacker is swiftly brought to justice."
Remington grew up in Coeur d'Alene, in northern Idaho, and was pastor of a church in California during the 1980s, when he started a street ministry for drug and alcohol addicts, according to a biography on the church's website.
He returned home to Coeur d'Alene about 18 years ago and started The Altar Church, as well as the Good Samaritan Rehabilitation drug and alcohol residential program. He and his wife, Cindy, have four children. ||||| Members of a Coeur d’Alene church prayed Sunday night for the recovery of their pastor after he was gunned down earlier in the day by an assailant in the church parking lot.
And they marveled at reports from the hospital that pastor Tim Remington was expected to pull through despite being shot as many as six times, including in the head and a lung.
“He’s absolutely fine,” said John Padula, outreach pastor at Altar Church, after speaking with doctors at Kootenai Health.
The suspected shooter, 30-year-old Kyle Andrew Odom, of Coeur d’Alene, fled the scene in a silver 2004 Honda Accord with Idaho license plate K578519, police said. Odom has blond hair and blue eyes, is 6 feet tall and weighs about 170 pounds.
He is considered armed and dangerous, police said. Anyone who knows his location is asked to call 911.
“We need to make sure this individual is taken off the streets as quickly as possible,” Coeur d’Alene police Chief Lee White said.
Odom was a corporal in the Marine Corps and studied biochemistry at the University of Idaho, according to his Facebook page.
Remington, 55, was shot the day after he prayed with presidential hopeful Ted Cruz at a campaign rally in Coeur d’Alene and gave the invocation at the start of the event.
He has spent years building a faith-based recovery program for drug addicts and alcoholics, and he has counseled jail inmates.
Remington has been threatened several times over the years by addicts he has tried to help, Padula said.
White said investigators don’t yet know of a motive for the shooting.
“For the Coeur d’Alene Police Department, this is all hands on deck,” he said. “We’re getting everybody out here to investigate this crime.”
The shooting was recorded by a security camera at the church, at 901 E. Best Ave. Padula, who viewed the footage, said the suspect was inside the church during morning services.
The man “kind of wandered around,” then went outside and waited in his car about 10 minutes before Remington left the church just before 2 p.m., Padula said. Remington opened his car door, and the shooter walked up behind him “and just started shooting him in the back,” he said.
The shooter stood in a military-like posture, Padula said. “It didn’t look like the first time he had shot. He stood pretty professional as he was shooting.”
Remington’s car was pierced by bullets and shell casings were left scattered on the pavement.
Two men at the church quickly ran to their pastor’s aid. Remington was shot in the lung, head, hip and shoulder but escaped life-threatening injuries, Padula said.
Church members and friends hailed his survival as the work of God.
“One of the bullets tried to enter the brain but stopped at the skull. … He is and will continue to be alive and serving God!” Roger Crigger said in an update on social media.
May Traverso, who has attended Altar Church since 2011, described Remington as “tirelessly devoted, self-sacrificing, loving.”
“He did not deserve this,” Traverso said, tears welling in her eyes. “I don’t get this.”
Remington is director of Good Samaritan Rehabilitation, which provides drug and alcohol treatment. The faith-based approach aims to instill a sense of purpose, identity and confidence in people, and he believes recovering addicts benefit from spending time with Christian mentors. He and his family have invited addicts to live with them over the years.
“He lives for God and for everybody else. He is the most selfless man I have ever met in my life,” Padula said. “When I was struggling, when I was using drugs still, he just loved the daylights out of me and helped me, as he has done for 1,700 people now who have graduated our program.”
His daughter, Amanda Padula, said she was addicted to opiates for seven years before she went through Remington’s recovery program in 2010. “He showed Christ’s love to me and changed my life radically,” she said.
Deborah Young said she was addicted to heroin, opiates and alcohol before she went through the program in 2014.
“When I was in my darkest time he was the one who pulled me out,” Young said. “I love him like he’s my father.”
Coeur d’Alene Assembly Church opened its doors Sunday evening for church members and others in the community to gather for prayer. Remington’s wife, Cindy, and their daughter and three sons were at the hospital with him, John Padula said.
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– The attempted murder of a pastor in Idaho after his Sunday sermon is drawing extra attention because the pastor had publicly prayed with Ted Cruz only the day before. But whether there's any connection remains iffy, reports the Spokesman Review. The pastor, Tim Remington of Coeur d'Alene, works with addicts and had been threatened previously by some of those same addicts, notes the newspaper. Police on Monday identified a 30-year-old former Marine, Kyle Odom, as the suspect, and he remains at large. The 55-year-old Remington was ambushed Sunday in the parking lot of his church. The gunman shot him as many as six times at close range, including in the head, but, incredibly, Remington is expected to make a full recovery. The gunman "stood pretty professional as he was shooting," says another pastor at Altar Church. On Saturday, Remington had prayed with Cruz at a campaign rally and gave the invocation at the event. "Our prayers are with Pastor Tim," a campaign spokeswoman tells NBC News. Meanwhile, a Facebook post by a church member is getting wide circulation: "One of the bullets TRIED to enter the brain but stopped at the skull, one of the bullets busted his hip, one fractured his shoulder pretty bad, but he is and will continue to be ALIVE AND SERVING GOD! Just like we all KNEW he would!" Remington and his wife moved to Coeur d'Alene after working in street ministry in California and running a coffeehouse there, according to the church website. Security footage shows that Odom attended the Sunday sermon. Police say he fled the scene in a silver Honda Accord and should be considered "armed and dangerous."
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Teresa Giudice Didn't Understand Anything About Finances, Says Former Attorney
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While Teresa Giudice may have pleaded guilty to bank and wire fraud charges in connection to a long-running financial conspiracy with husband Joe Giudice, her former attorney Jim Kridel – who represented the couple back in 2010 in their original bankruptcy case – says it's possible she may have committed the crimes unknowingly."I did not believe that Teresa was all that knowledgeable about any of the finances of her family until ultimately she became the breadwinner," Kridel tells PEOPLE."Everyone seems to blame her that she knew or should have known. I don't find that to be true in real life, though," he says. "People come in and sign tax returns quite often, and the spouse who is not in charge of the finances has no information. They just do what the accountant tells them."Following their Oct. 2 sentencing , Teresa and Joe sat down with Andy Cohen for an exclusive one-on-one sit-down for a Watch What Happens Live special."I mean this was a long time ago," Teresa told Cohen when asked about her involvement in the case. "Whatever Joe told me to sign, I signed."While the couple have appeared on the RHONJ reality show since 2008, Kridel says being in the spotlight may have ultimately hurt them when it came to their legal case."Whenever the person is a celebrity, they're a target," he says. "The public attention does not help and that definitely affected the ultimate sentence." ||||| Teresa Giudice Sues Lawyer He's the Reason I'm Going to Prison
Teresa Giudice Sues Lawyer ... He's the Reason I'm Going to Prison
EXCLUSIVE
can't even do bankruptcy right ... and she blames it on her lawyer whom she is now suing.Teresa claims in her new lawsuit -- obtained by TMZ -- he was a slacker who never even met with her prior to filing bankruptcy docs.She also says he was sloppy as hell, not bothering to list key assets such as her cars, her rental property income and various bank accounts.Giudice claims he's the reason she got nailed with bankruptcy fraud and that's why she's going to prison for 15 months.Teresa says it's a classic case of malpractice, and she wants minimum 5 mil. By the way ... if you see any stories later today saying she's suing for $15 mil ... that's wrong. She makes the same claim 3 times.We reached out to Teresa's lawyer, Jim Kridel ... so far no word back. ||||| Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice and her husband Joe are awaiting possible prison time after pleading guilty to a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme. But they might lose something other than freedom: their house.
The couple put their $4 million mansion up for sale, and YOU can now peek inside, drooling at the opulence or scoffing at the ostentatious display of wealth. It's not exactly kid-friendly, though. How the heck did Tre and Joe live there with four young daughters? Sidebar: But how gorg is the girl's bedroom?
The pair could go from this big house to the big house after Joe was accused of hiding assets and income -- which would have been easy to stash away in this six-bedroom, six-bathroom manse on three acres of land! So without further ado, let's take a look at the home that Fabellini and fraud built and fantasize about life as a Housewife.
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– Teresa Giudice is apparently unhappy that she's headed to prison for 15 months—so unhappy that the reality star is suing her former attorney for $5 million, claiming it's his fault. The New Jersey Real Housewife says James Kridel, who handled the family's original 2010 bankruptcy filing, botched that filing and then "prepared faulty amendments" to it, the New York Daily News reports. She also says Kridel didn't adequately prepare her for her hearing before a Bankruptcy Court trustee and creditors to whom the family owed money; the trustee objected to the Giudices' bankruptcy filing, which led to them being hit with fraud charges and ultimately convictions. Specifically, Giudice claims Kridel did not meet with her prior to filing the documents, and did not list assets including her cars, rental property income, and even some bank accounts, TMZ reports. In October, Kridel told People he "did not believe that Teresa was all that knowledgeable about any of the finances of her family until ultimately she became the breadwinner. Everyone seems to blame her that she knew or should have known," he said. "I don't find that to be true in real life, though. People come in and sign tax returns quite often, and the spouse who is not in charge of the finances has no information. They just do what the accountant tells them." (Click to see pictures of the $4 million mansion the Giudices were forced to put on the market.)
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The state of Washington is suing Motel 6, alleging the low-cost hotel chain repeatedly provided detailed information about guests to federal immigration authorities for at least two years in violation of a state consumer protection law.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Wednesday that at least six corporate-owned hotels provided U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials daily lists of guests, including their names, driver’s license numbers, dates of birth and room numbers.
... ||||| 0 Washington state sues Motel 6 for sharing guest lists with ICE
Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has sued Motel 6, charging the company with sharing its guest lists with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. He says the company violated privacy rights and discriminated against thousands of Washingtonians.
The motel company voluntarily gave the guest lists to ICE on a routine basis for at least two years, according to Ferguson. Each time Motel 6 released a guest list, it included the name and private information of every guest at the hotel, the lawsuit says.
Personal information released included customers’ driver’s license numbers, room numbers, names, guest identification numbers, dates of birth and license plate numbers, according to the lawsuit.
“After news reports in Arizona revealed Motel 6 staff was handing over guests’ private information, Motel 6 implied this was a local problem,” Ferguson said. “We have found that is not true. Washingtonians have a right to privacy, and protection from discrimination. I will hold Motel 6 accountable and uncover the whole story of their disturbing conduct.”
The Attorney General’s Office began investigating the motel chain’s Washington locations in September and alleges that the incidents in Arizona were not isolated.
Image: AG's office
According to Ferguson, Motel 6 officials admit that at least six of the company's Washington state locations -- in Bellingham, North Everett, South Everett, South Seattle, SeaTac and South Tacoma -- shared personal information of its guests with ICE; this led to the detention of at least six people.
Four of those locations released the personal information of at least 9,151 guests to ICE, even though its privacy policy assured consumers it would protect this information, according to the attorney general.
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Ferguson asserts that Motel 6 knew that ICE used the guest lists to target customers based on national origin, including customers with Latino-sounding names. His office says the company trained new employees on the process to give the guest registry and all the names of their guests to ICE.
"At the South Everett location, for example, ICE agents visited the motels early in the morning or late at night, requested the day’s guest list, circled any Latino-sounding names and returned to their vehicles," a news release on Ferguson's investigation said. "On at least one occasion, ICE later returned to the motel and detained at least one individual. The Attorney General’s investigators discovered that from Feb. 1 to Sept. 14, 2017, the South Everett location gave guests’ private, personal information to ICE on approximately 228 occasions in a 225-day period."
The lawsuit filed on Wednesday claims that Motel 6 committed thousands of violations of the Consumer Protection Act and hundreds of violations of the Washington Law Against Discrimination.
A Washington state Supreme Court case established that guest registry information is private and that random searches of this information violates rights to privacy found in the Washington Constitution.
In that case, State v. Jorden, the court said, “Information contained in a motel registry constitutes a private affair under article 1, section 7 of the Washington State Constitution because it reveals sensitive, discrete, and private information about the motel’s guest.”
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© 2018 Cox Media Group. ||||| Motel 6 provided guests’ personal information to law enforcement without warrant
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced a lawsuit against national hotel chain Motel 6 for voluntarily providing guest lists to agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on a routine basis for at least two years. Each time Motel 6 released a guest list, it included the name and private information of every guest at the hotel.
The Attorney General’s Office began to investigate Motel 6 locations in Washington after two Motel 6 locations in Arizona made national news for voluntarily providing guests’ personal information to ICE. Motel 6 admits that at least six of its Washington state locations shared personal information of its guests with ICE. This lead to significant consequences including the detention of at least six individuals.
Specifically, four of those locations released the personal information of at least 9,151 guests to ICE, even though its privacy policy assured consumers it would protect this information. Motel 6 admits that two additional locations shared this private information with ICE, but has not provided details regarding the number of individuals affected. The personal information released included customers’ driver’s license numbers, room number, name, guest identification number, date of birth and license plate number. The voluntary release of this information constitutes an unfair and deceptive business practice, and violates the Consumer Protection Act.
Additionally, Ferguson asserts that Motel 6 knew that ICE used its guest lists to target customers based on national origin, including customers with Latino-sounding names. Motel 6’s actions constituted discrimination against these individuals based on their national origin, a violation of the Washington Law Against Discrimination.
The lawsuit, filed today in King County Superior Court, asserts that Motel 6 committed thousands of violations of the Consumer Protection Act and hundreds of violations of the Washington Law Against Discrimination. Motel 6 admits ICE detained at least six people as a result of this practice on or near Motel 6 property.
“After news reports in Arizona revealed Motel 6 staff was handing over guests’ private information, Motel 6 implied this was a local problem,” Ferguson said. “We have found that is not true. Washingtonians have a right to privacy, and protection from discrimination. I will hold Motel 6 accountable and uncover the whole story of their disturbing conduct.”
Motel 6 has more than 1,200 locations across North America with more than 105,000 rooms. The company owns and operates 26 locations in Washington, including both company-owned and franchise-owned motels. All six locations mentioned in the lawsuit are corporate-owned motels.
In September 2017, a reporter in Arizona published reports that Motel 6 voluntarily provided guest lists to ICE without a warrant at two corporate-owned locations in the Phoenix area, leading to the detention of at least 20 individuals in Arizona. After the story made national news, Motel 6 released a short statement that the practice of providing guest information to ICE was “implemented at the local level without the knowledge of senior management.”
The Attorney General’s Office began investigating the motel chain’s Washington locations in September and discovered that the incidents in Arizona were not isolated.
The office interviewed several people who have worked at these Motel 6 locations in Washington. During the Attorney General’s investigation, Motel 6 admitted that at least six Washington Motel 6 locations provided guest registry information to ICE agents since at least 2015: Bellingham, North Everett, South Everett, South Seattle, SeaTac and South Tacoma. The Attorney General’s investigators discovered that over a two-year period, four of the six locations released the information of more than 9,000 guests. The company provided no details regarding two of those six locations, and only partial information for the other four locations. Consequently, the number of guests affected by Motel 6’s practice will undoubtedly increase significantly when it is required to provide more information during the course of the lawsuit.
Ferguson’s lawsuit asserts Motel 6 violated the law every time it voluntary released an individual’s private information to ICE. The consequences for some guests were significant. This unlawful practice led to ICE detaining at least six guests at the motels.
In addition to continuing to investigate the extent of violations of the six Motel 6 locations mentioned in the lawsuit, the Attorney General’s Office will investigate whether the remaining 20 Motel 6 locations in Washington illegally provided information.
The guest lists released by Motel 6 included customers’ room number, name, guest identification number, date of birth and license plate number ¾ information that is protected under Washington state law. A Washington state Supreme Court case established that guest registry information is private and that random searches of this information violates rights to privacy found in the Washington Constitution.
In that case, State v. Jorden, the court said, “Information contained in a motel registry constitutes a private affair under article 1, section 7 of the Washington State Constitution because it reveals sensitive, discrete, and private information about the motel’s guest.”
The court noted there are a variety of lawful reasons an individual may want their hotel stay to remain private: “The desire for privacy may extend to business people engaged in confidential negotiations … One could also imagine a scenario … where a domestic violence victim flees to a hotel in hopes of remaining hidden from an abuser.”
The Motel 6 privacy policy states that it is “committed to safeguarding the privacy of the personal information that we gather.”
Motel 6 locations provided a form for ICE visits, referred to as a “law enforcement acknowledgement form,” which agents signed upon receiving the day’s guest list. At least three of these locations changed the form in the same way at about the same time in May 2017.
Motel 6 trained new employees on the process to give the guest registry and all the names of their guests to ICE. The training and practice did not require the agents to produce a warrant.
At the South Everett location, for example, ICE agents visited the motels early in the morning or late at night, requested the day’s guest list, circled any Latino-sounding names and returned to their vehicles. On at least one occasion, ICE later returned to the motel and detained at least one individual. The Attorney General’s investigators discovered that from Feb. 1 to Sept. 14, 2017, the South Everett location gave guests’ private, personal information to ICE on approximately 228 occasions in a 225-day period.
Motel 6 knew that ICE used the guest lists to target guests based on their national origin. The Washington Law Against Discrimination specifically prohibits direct and indirect discrimination on the basis of national origin, Ferguson’s lawsuit alleges that Motel 6 did both.
Specific alleged violations
Ferguson’s lawsuit alleges the following violations of the Consumer Protection Act and the Washington Law Against Discrimination:
Motel 6 committed unfair acts in violation of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) by violating its guests’ right to privacy.
Motel 6 committed deceptive acts in violation of the CPA by violating its own privacy policy and misrepresenting its privacy policy to guests and prospective guests.
Motel 6 committed an automatic violation of the CPA by violating the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD) in the course of trade or commerce.
Motel 6 violated the WLAD by denying the full enjoyment of places of public accommodation to its guests on the basis of the guests’ national origin.
Motel 6 violated the WLAD when its motels, as places of public accommodation, directly or indirectly discriminated against its guests on the basis of the guests’ national origin.
Ferguson argues that each time Motel 6 disclosed each guest’s name and information qualifies as a separate violation of the Consumer Protection Act. The office asks for civil penalties of up to $2,000 per violation.
The state also asks for recovery of its costs and fees.
The Attorney General’s Office will continue with its investigation to discover the entire scope of the unlawful disclosures made by Motel 6 and seek appropriate relief from the court.
If you believe you were affected by Motel 6's practices, please contact the Wing Luke Civil Rights Unit at (844) 323-3864.
Assistant Attorney General Mitchell Riese of the AGO’s Civil Rights Unit is lead attorney in the case.
Ferguson created the Wing Luke Civil Rights Unit in 2015 to protect the rights of all Washington residents by enforcing state and federal anti-discrimination laws. Ferguson named the unit for Wing Luke, who served as an Assistant Attorney General for the state of Washington in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He went on to become the first person of color elected to the Seattle City Council and the first Asian-American elected to public office in the Pacific Northwest.
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The Office of the Attorney General is the chief legal office for the state of Washington with attorneys and staff in 27 divisions across the state providing legal services to roughly 200 state agencies, boards and commissions. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.
Contacts:
Brionna Aho, Communications Director, (360) 753-2727; [email protected] ||||| Contact: Email Consumer Resource Center Available Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 1-800-551-4636 (Washington Only)
206-464-6684 File a consumer complaint File an online complaint here Mail paper complaint forms to: Attorney General’s Office
Consumer Resource Center
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104
Overview
The Consumer Protection Division is composed of attorneys and professional staff. The division enforces the Consumer Protection Act ( RCW 19.86 ) and other statutes to help keep the Washington marketplace free of unfair and deceptive practices. The division investigates and files legal actions to stop unfair and deceptive practices, recovers refunds for consumers, seeks penalties against offending entities, and recovers costs and fees to ensure that wrongdoers pay for their actions. Division staff participate in the many legislative initiatives that affect consumer protection each year.
The division’s Consumer Resource Center provides an informal complaint resolution service. The informal complaint resolution process includes notifying businesses of written complaints and facilitating communication between the consumer and the business to assist in resolving the complaint.
The Consumer Protection Division provides information and education to businesses and the public on consumer issues and issues alerts and press releases to warn consumers and businesses about fraudulent or predatory activities.
The Consumer Protection Division is also responsible for the administration of Washington’s Lemon Law for new motor vehicle warranty enforcement. The Lemon Law program provides important information to consumers regarding their rights and remedies under the Lemon Law and the Lemon Law arbitration process. The Lemon Law program also provides consumer and industry education and enforcement regarding manufacturer and dealer obligations under the law.
The division also administers the Manufactured/Mobile Home Dispute Resolution Program (MHDRP). The MHDRP facilitates dispute resolution between manufactured/mobile home landlords and tenants in situations where the tenant owns the home but rents a space from the landlord. The MHDRP is authorized to investigate, issue findings and impose fines if there has been a violation of the law. The MHDRP produces and distributes educational materials regarding the Manufactured/Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Act (MHLTA).
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Legal Services Provided (to the state)
The division represents the state and the public as a whole, as opposed to individuals, when it brings actions under the Consumer Protection Act. Attorneys in the Consumer Protection Division cannot represent individual consumers.
Check our news releases for news on Consumer Protection Division lawsuits and enforcement actions.
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Consumer Resources
Consumer Resource Center: The Consumer Resource Center processes thousands of consumer complaints and thousands of consumer telephone calls every year. As a result of the informal complaint resolution of the 25,000 written consumer complaints, the CRCs help return more than $4 million to the consumers of the state each year.
Lemon Law Program: The Lemon Law Program separately handles thousands of additional telephone inquiries and handles more than 100 arbitration requests each year. The Lemon Law program has helped return millions of dollars to consumers.
Manufactured/Mobile Home Dispute Resolution Program: The Manufactured/Mobile Home Dispute Resolution Program (MHDRP) enforces the Manufactured/Mobile Home Landlord Tenant Act. The MHDRP engages landlords and tenants in facilitated negotiation to resolve disputes. In situations when the parties cannot reach a lawful resolution to the issue, the MHDRP is authorized to investigate, issue findings and impose fines on landlords or tenants who violate the law.
Outreach and Education: The division remains active in the area of outreach and education. We believe that the best way to prevent fraud is to arm consumers with the tools to avoid it before they are victimized. The division also works with other government agencies, non-profits and business organizations to help them help their constituents avoid becoming victims and help businesses avoid enforcement actions.
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– Washington state is suing Motel 6 for selling out its guests, accusing the budget motel chain of voluntarily giving ICE officials daily lists with guests' driver's license numbers, DOBs, and room numbers, reports KIRO 7. "The scale of what Motel 6 was doing is deeply disturbing to me," says state AG Bob Ferguson, per the Wall Street Journal. Ferguson says Motel 6 flouted the state's Consumer Protection Act more than 9,000 times at at least six hotels over more than two years, and ICE agents would scour the lists for "Latino-sounding names," among others, per a release. Ferguson notes Motel 6, which says at least six people were detained, even trained new hires on giving data to ICE. The complaint, which seeks $2,000 per violation, is just one step the state has taken against President Trump's immigration crackdown, with other suits already filed on DACA and deportations. A spokeswoman from ICE, which wasn't listed as a defendant in the suit, noted to the Journal that "viable enforcement tips" were received "from a host of sources" on "highly dangerous illegal enterprises" she says take place at hotels and motels; she didn't name Motel 6 itself. The company, however, has conceded it gave away guest information, issuing a statement last year saying it happened "at the local level without the knowledge of senior management." Ferguson rebuts that, noting the chain has done the same in Arizona. The company says it's now revamping its guidelines and will instruct all of its 1,400-plus locations not to hand over guest info without legal papers. "A guest's activities in their property, particularly their hotel room, is expected to be kept private," a hospitality law attorney tells the Journal. "That's one of the basic understandings."
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A much-loved and highly respected Gary police officer died Thursday at his Griffith home.
His wife, also a Gary officer, found Sgt. Donald Peter, 42, a 15-year veteran, after the two were doing yard work and he went inside because he didn't feel well.
An autopsy was performed Friday, and officials said Peter died of apparent natural causes.
His death comes in the wake of another loss earlier this week.
Former Gary officer Burt Sanders, who graduated from the police academy with Peter in 2000, was found dead in a church sanctuary after calling 911 and complaining of chest pain. Sanders left the force about five years ago to join the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District police department.
Peter had recently been promoted to sergeant. His professional appearance, calm attitude and sensible response to situations drew praise from co-workers and supervisors alike.
During his probationary period in his new rank, Peter, who spent his entire career working the midnight shift, was temporarily moved to a daytime assignment.
"When I saw him, I told the deputy chief, 'Now that's a sergeant,'" patrol Cmdr. Samuel Roberts said Friday. "He was a wonderful officer, level-headed."
Peter met and fell in love with his wife while they both worked in the patrol division on midnights. They were married almost six years. Hours after his death, Detective Cpl. Shauna Poirier-Peter spoke to the midnight turn at roll call.
"She wanted to talk to the guys, tell them how much he loved all of them," co-worker Patrolman Emmanuel Figueroa said Friday. "He really did love midnights. He never wanted to work anywhere else."
Even before Peter obtained rank, he showed his leadership skills and encouraged officers to always look out for each other.
"I can't remember a time when he lost his cool," Figueroa said.
His deep, resonant voice was easily recognized on the radio, and no matter what the scene, his tone stayed the same, Figueroa said.
"He never got that high-pitched voice, if it was a pursuit or anything else," he said. "He was always cool, calm and collected."
Figueroa said he will miss Peter. "He was a great officer. He was an even better friend." ||||| The aunt of a Chicago teenager found strangled to death in Gary Tuesday night said her family last heard from her Sunday.
Kizzie Richardson said that Connita L. Richardson, 17, had spent part of the day with her before she dropped her niece off at her grandfather's place in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.
From there, Connita Richardson went to her boyfriend's house, Kizzie Richardson said, and at some point, a cousin from her mother's side of the family came and got her.
Richardson's aunt and grandfather told her to check in with them and got worried when they hadn't heard from her on Monday.
Then Richardson's grandfather heard about a body found in the former Emerson High School Tuesday night that had tattoos of the word "gorgeous" with a bird and another of the word "love" with flowers, both of which matched Richardson.
"That's when my dad put it together," she said.
Someone called Gary police Tuesday night about a woman's body in the former high school at 716 E. 7th Ave., and the Lake County Coroner's office pronounced Richardson dead at 8:20 p.m. They ruled Wednesday night that she had been strangled.
Gary Sgt. Thomas Decanter said Thursday that police are still investigating the case and working with her family to determine why she was in the area. He added that no arrests have been made.
A Chicago woman can't understand how her daughter ended up dead in an abandoned building in Gary, Indiana. (WGN-TV) A Chicago woman can't understand how her daughter ended up dead in an abandoned building in Gary, Indiana. (WGN-TV) SEE MORE VIDEOS
"I don't think they have anything close (to a suspect) yet," he said.
He added that police had several interviews scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
Kizzie Richardson said the fact that her niece's cousin hasn't been seen since her body was discovered makes her suspicious of him. She added that she hopes her niece gets justice.
"They're going to get what they deserve," Kizzie Richardson said.
She added that it's hard processing her niece's death, especially as she just saw Richardson on Sunday.
Richardson was getting ready to start her senior year at Dunbar High School in Chicago and was still trying to decide what she wanted to do after graduation, her aunt said.
She was a normal teenager, hanging out with friends and playing on social media.
"She was an intelligent young girl; she was very smart," Kizzie Richardson said. "My brother called her my baby."
The empty school has been a hit a number of times in the past few years by vandals, but a neighbor said Wednesday that a police officer patrols the area almost every day. The high school is just one of more than 20 buildings that the Gary Community School Corp. has had to close in recent years, leaving them vacant.
Vacant houses have also been a problem for Gary. Police found the bodies of six women in vacant houses last summer, and Darren Deon Vann is charged with two of their deaths. Police say he led them to five sites where he left the bodies after killing the women.
Contact Teresa Auch Schultz at [email protected]. ||||| Burt Sanders dialed 911 at 2:03 a.m. June 5 and told the dispatcher, "I need an ambulance real quick. I'm having chest pains," a recording released Friday shows.
In the recording, communications technician Sherrie Williams said she needed him to slow down as he spoke so she could get the correct address.
Officials said a Prompt ambulance arrived within minutes at the Church of God in Christ on W. 9th Avenue in Gary's Brunswick neighborhood, but the door was locked. Medics couldn't get in and without further information, they left, according to reports.
Sanders, 44, a Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District police officer for five years, who previously spent 10 years at a Gary officer, was found dead in the back row of his family's church the next morning when his niece arrived to clean the sanctuary for upcoming services. Sanders' father is the pastor there.
Brian Hitchcock, executive director of the Lake County 911 Department, said Friday that Williams has been terminated. Her supervisor, Vanessa Reese, will serve a three-day unpaid suspension. Their punishment is based on "the manner in which (they) handled the call," Hitchcock said in a news release Friday.
Williams had six years of experience as a technician and Reese has 12 years. Reese was responsible for relaying information to the medics. "When Prompt Medical announced they cleared the scene, Ms. Reese failed to take any additional action," Hitchcock's release states.
Hitchcock said Friday he was meeting with police commanders to review the situation and possible changes in protocol. "This the first serious incident we've had," he said.
When Sanders called, he said he could make it to the door to unlock it and Williams offered to stay on the phone with him until help arrived.
"I'm sending them. I just need you to be letting them in," Williams told Sanders in the recording.
About three minutes into the call, Sanders can be heard, apparently in distress, calling out, "Jesus" more than once.
Williams tells her co-worker, "He threw the phone down." She repeats his name in the recording, but there was no response.
When relatives arrived Saturday morning, they found Sanders sitting on the floor, his phone next to him.
He had attended a church service Friday night, telling members he was grateful to be there praying and not "laid out in front," his sister, Ruth Sutton, said earlier this week. He decided to spend the night there, to continue prayer and do some chores, she said.
Sanders had spent the previous week hospitalized for pneumonia, but was out the day before he died to see his son graduate from high school.
He is survived by his wife, Sarah, and five children. A celebration of life is set for 6 p.m. Sunday at The Church of God in Christ. Visitation will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. Monday at the Genesis Convention Center with the funeral service to follow. ||||| Five more police officers are leaving the understaffed Gary Police Department as the city struggles to offer competitive salaries for public safety workers.
The Board of Works and Safety approved the resignations of Sgt. Pete Sormaz, Patrolman Diego Alvarez, Cpl. Jeffery Hornyak and Cpl. Daniel Quasney on Wednesday. About 20 officers have resigned so far this year.
Last week, probationary officer Edward Maldonado Jr. resigned.
The City Council learned Tuesday the police roster has dropped below 200. The city's budget allows for 235 officers. Because of its financial troubles, Gary has not kept pace with raises for its public safety workers in the past several years. As a result, experienced officers are taking jobs with other police departments where the pay is better and the duty less dangerous. Or they're joining private industries.
Gary is the lowest paid, but busiest department in Lake County. Probationary officers earn $35,646 while a 1st Class Patrolman makes $39,304. The town of Merrillville's website lists its entry level police officer salary at $48,000.
Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson said she's been working to come up with possible solutions with the leadership of the Gary Fraternal Order of Police and Chief Larry McKinley.
"Anytime you're $10,000 less than a neighboring department and have arguably the greatest risk, you don't have to do the math," she said of the pay disparity. "We get that. They need a sense that they're valued."
Contact Carole Carlson at [email protected]
Twitter: @ccwriterPT
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– Times are tough for at least one American police force. With five recent resignations, the force in Gary, Indiana, has seen 20 cops quit this year. Now the city budgeted for 235 officers has fewer than 200, the Chicago Tribune reports. Seems it's about money: In the city of about 80,000 just 30 miles southeast of Chicago along Lake Michigan, first-class patrolmen earn just $39,304, making it Lake County's busiest but lowest-paid department. In nearby Merrillville, Indiana, entry-level officers are pulling in $48,000. Financial problems have left Gary unable to compete with raises offered to other public safety workers in recent years. "Anytime you're $10,000 less than a neighboring department and have arguably the greatest risk, you don't have to do the math," says Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson. "We get that," she adds. "They need a sense that they're valued." Meanwhile, Gary police are investigating the death of a 17-year-old Chicago girl whose body turned up at her old high school in Gary, the Tribune reports. According to her aunt, Connita Richardson was picked up from her boyfriend's house by a cousin last Sunday, and went missing until her body was found at the school on Tuesday. "I don't think they have anything close (to a suspect) yet," says a Gary police sergeant. Adding to Gary's woes, "much-loved and highly respected" 15-year veteran Sgt. Donald Peter, 42, died at home of apparent natural causes Thursday, reports the Tribune. And last month, ex-Gary officer Burt Sanders called 911 from a Gary church about chest pains, but when medics arrived, the church door was locked, and they left; Sanders was later found dead in the sanctuary, officials tell the Tribune.
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CLOSE Skip in Skip x Embed x Share The California rapper posted a rant on Instagram saying the "Roots" remake by History Channel that debuted on Memorial Day is offensive. He says he wishes more positive films and TV shows would be made about African-Americans. USA TODAY
Snoop Dogg performs in New York on May 3, 2016. (Photo: Jamie McCarthy, Getty Images for AOL)
Rapper and actor Snoop Dogg is calling for a boycott of the new Roots miniseries in an expletive-filled social media post.
In the video on Instagram and Twitter, Snoop Dogg rails about the remake of Roots, which premieres Monday as a four-night series on History, A&E and Lifetime channels.
The remake is based on ABC's landmark 1977 miniseries of the same name, taken from author Alex Haley's 1976 novel, which explored the horrors of American slavery.
"I'm sick of this. ... How the (expletive) they gonna put Roots on Memorial Day?" a subdued Snoop Dogg asks in the selfie video. "They just going to keep beating that (expletive) into our heads as to how they did us, huh?"
Warning: Video contains extensive profanity.
Message 💫👍🏾🕊🕊 A video posted by snoopdogg (@snoopdogg) on May 30, 2016 at 8:55am PDT
He takes exception to the portrayal of slavery in Roots and the movie 12 Years A Slave, which won the best picture Oscar in 2014 and a best supporting actress award for Lupita Nyong'o.
"I don't understand America. They just want to keep showing the abuse that we took hundreds and hundreds of years ago. But guess what? We're taking the same abuse," he says. "Think about that part. When you all going to make a (expletive) series about the success that black folks is having. The only success we have is Roots and 12 Years A Slave?"
(Photo: Casey Crafford)
Snoop Dogg says he won't watch Roots and calls upon other African-Americans to follow suit.
"Let's create our own (expletive) based on today. How we live and how we inspire people today. Black is what's real," he says.
USA TODAY has reached out to the History Channel for comment.
Earlier, Roots co-executive producer LeVar Burton, who played the central character in the 1977 miniseries, enslaved protagonist Kunta Kinte, told USA TODAY that the remake was needed as part of a national discussion.
"We are clearly engaged in the conversation in America and it's one where everybody needs to be involved," Burton says. "If you are living in America right now, then the story of slavery is relevant to you, because it's shaped the country and the culture in which you live, whether you want to admit that or not."
(Photo: ABC)
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1sHlILq ||||| Snoop Dogg Snoop Dogg lambasts Roots remake: 'I can't watch it' Rapper says he is sick of films and TV shows that depict historical racial abuse against African Americans when they are still ‘taking the same abuse’ Snoop Dogg arrives at the premiere of Coach Snoop. Photograph: Jerod Harris/Getty Images
The remake of Roots has gained widespread critical acclaim – but not from Snoop Dogg, who posted a short video on Instagram on Monday criticising the show, and suggesting that African Americans should not watch it.
In the video, the rapper said that he was fed up with watching films and TV shows that depicted the abuse of black Americans. “12 Years a Slave, Roots, Underground, I can’t watch none of that shit,” Snoop Dogg said, also taking aim at the Steve McQueen-directed Oscar-winning film and the WGN TV series about slaves in Georgia escaping via an underground railroad, which was recently renewed for a second season.
Roots remake: seminal slavery narrative still resonates in revamped miniseries Read more
“They just want to keep showing us the abuse that we took hundreds and hundreds of years ago,” said Snoop Dogg. “But guess what – we’re taking the same abuse. Think about that part. Why don’t y’all go and make a muthafuckin’ series about the success that black folks is having?”
The rapper is at least leading by example, with a current web series on AOL called Coach Snoop, which follows the Snoop Youth Football League. Snoop Dogg set up the league with the aim of getting inner-city children aged between five and 13 involved in football, and is its coach and commissioner.
Roots, meanwhile, revisits one of the most successful shows in US television history for the Black Lives Matter era. British actor Malachi Kirby stars as enslaved Gambian warrior Kunta Kinte in the first episode, which aired in America on Sunday. The show is executive produced by LeVar Burton, who played Kunta Kinte in the original 70s miniseries, which was based on the book by Malcolm X biographer Alex Haley.
Snoop Dogg concluded that he would not watch Roots, and advised his fans to avoid it. “Let’s create our own shit based on today, how we living and how we inspire people today. Black is what’s real. Fuck that old shit.” ||||| 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.
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– To Snoop Dogg, Roots, 12 Years a Slave, Underground, and other depictions of slavery apparently aren't important history lessons, but attempts to rub black people's faces in the oppression they suffered centuries ago. In an expletive-filled Instagram video, the rapper urges fans to steer clear of the History Channel's Roots remake, People reports. "They gonna just keep beating that [expletive] in our heads of how they did us, huh?" he says. "They just want to keep showing the abuse that we took hundreds and hundreds of years ago. But, guess what? We taking the same abuse." He then wonders: "When you all going to make a [expletive] series about the success black folks is having?" Many Instagram commenters strongly disagreed with Snoop. "If the main theme one gets out of Roots is people getting beat then they may be viewing the series with tunnel vision and miss the resilience, strength, and humanity of a people in the face of unimaginable conditions," wrote "monecho1." Before Snoop's comments, Roots remake co-producer LeVar Burton, who starred in the original series, told USA Today that the new series should be part of the national conversation. "If you are living in America right now, then the story of slavery is relevant to you, because it's shaped the country and the culture in which you live, whether you want to admit that or not," he said. The Guardian notes that Snoop said black people should create works based on "how we inspire people today" and is walking it like he talks it: He's starring in the Coach Snoop reality series about the Snoop Youth Football League, which he set up to help inner-city children.
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Tuesday, August 2, 2016
On July 23, 2016, the Massachusetts legislature unanimously passed a comprehensive pay equality bill aimed at eradicating gender-based pay discrimination. The governor of Massachusetts signed the bill on August 1, 2016, but the law will not go into effect until July 1, 2018.
The law requires that employers pay men and women equally when their work is “comparable,” i.e., when the work is “substantially similar” in skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions. This is a broader standard than most states’ equal pay acts, which require proof of identical work for equal pay requirements to apply. The law also bans salary secrecy, the practice of preventing employees from discussing their pay or benefits with one another. The rationale is that greater openness among employees regarding their wages will help employees identify pay disparity along gender and other prohibited lines.
To encourage employers to voluntarily remedy past wage disparities, the law incorporates a three-year defense from liability for companies attempting to internally correct gender-based compensation disparities. During those three years, employers must complete a self-evaluation of their pay practices and demonstrate reasonable progress in eliminating pay disparities. If they do so, they are entitled to a rebuttable presumption that they have not engaged in gender discrimination.
One of the most unique features of the law is a first-in-the-nation law ban on employers’ soliciting candidates’ salary histories in the initial steps of the hiring process, a practice that critics claim can perpetuate discrimination against women. The rationale is that women earn less on average than their male counterparts, and their depressed historical earnings can then factor into the wages offered to them by subsequent employers. Postponing a discussion of salary history until after a conditional offer including wages has been extended reduces the risk that past discrimination will be perpetuated. Voluntary disclosure of wage history remains permissible.
Although Massachusetts employers have nearly two years to prepare for the law, they are advised to review their job applications now and prepare to amend them to eliminate mandatory wage history disclosures. Hiring managers should be trained not to solicit this information during the screening or interview process, while human resources professionals should review personnel documents to ensure that company policies do not prohibit employees from discussing their wages and benefits. Finally, Massachusetts employers should take the opportunity to review and remedy pay discrimination during the “rebuttable presumption” window, and ensure that required notices are posted regarding employees’ rights under the new law. ||||| Get Boston Globe's Political Happy Hour newsletter , your afternoon shot of politics, sent straight from the desk of Joshua Miller.
Supporters watch Monday as Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signs the bill into law at the State House. —Elise Amendola / AP
BOSTON (AP) — Republican Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law Monday a bill requiring men and women be paid equally for comparable work in Massachusetts — including what supporters say is a first-in-the nation provision barring employers from asking prospective workers to provide a salary history.
Baker signed the bill during a Statehouse ceremony.
Women are currently paid on average about 82 percent of what their male counterparts make for comparable work in Massachusetts. For black and Hispanic women, the pay gap is even wider.
Moments before signing the bill, Baker said the legislation will help ensure that in Massachusetts “people are paid what they are worth based only on what they are worth and not on something else.”
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The bill attempts to define what constitutes comparable work in part by outlining legitimate reasons for differences in pay — including seniority, geographic location, experience, education, training, or a system based on sales.
In particular, supporters hailed the provision in the law preventing employers from asking prospective workers to tell them how much they were getting paid at prior jobs.
Supporters say that since women have historically been paid less than men, the practice of asking for a salary history can help perpetuate a cycle of lower salaries for women.
The bill wouldn’t bar prospective employees from voluntarily offering information about their salary, however.
The law also lets employees discuss their salaries with other workers without facing retribution from their employer — a measure that could help workers discover pay inequities between men and women.
The Massachusetts House and Senate unanimously approved the legislation during a rare Saturday session last month sandwiched between the Republican and Democratic national conventions.
Democratic Sen. Karen Spilka of Ashland said Massachusetts has come a long way since it became the first state in the nation to approve a pay equity bill in 1945.
Spilka said the new law makes it clear that women working to support their families deserve fair pay and nothing less.
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The bill’s sponsor, Democratic Sen. Pat Jehlen of Somerville, also hailed the passage of the legislation.
“Today in Massachusetts, we can say that equal pay for equal work is not just a slogan. It’s the law,” she said.
But Jehlen also said that the work to ensure women are being paid fairly is not done.
Jehlen said that women working in jobs that have been traditionally filled by women — such as home care providers — are still not being paid enough to help support themselves and their families.
The new law also creates a three-year defense from liability to help encourage companies to correct compensation disparities between women and men internally before going to court.
During those three years, employers must complete a self-evaluation of their pay practices and demonstrate reasonable progress in eliminating pay disparities.
Employers would also be barred from reducing salaries to comply with the law.
The new law takes effect July 1, 2018.
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– Massachusetts "just took a big step toward closing the wage gap" with "the strongest equal pay law in the country," as Mother Jones puts it. Gov. Charlie Baker signed a new law Monday ensuring employees can speak openly about their wages, helping to uncover pay gaps, and requiring equal pay for workers of "comparable character" or in "comparable operations," reports the New York Times. But the law, taking effect in July 2018, is also the first to bar employers from asking for an applicant's pay history before offering them a job, though applicants can still disclose that information if they choose. Employers will instead be required to present a pay figure upfront. Supporters say the move will benefit women, who are paid 82 cents for every dollar men earn for comparable work in the state, reports Boston.com. As companies often set salaries based on an employee's previous wage, "these are things that don't just affect one job; it keeps women's wages down over their entire lifetime," says State Sen. Pat Jehlen, a Democrat who sponsored the bipartisan bill. But the law "will help every single individual who applies for a job, not just women," says the chairwoman of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women. "This is a sea change, and we hope it will be used as a model in other states." In case of breaches, workers will be able to file a claim within three years. However, companies who work to fix pay gaps will benefit from "a three-year defense from liability," reports the National Law Review. Differences in pay will still be allowed based on seniority, geographic location, experience, education, training, or a commission-based system.
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BOCA RATON, Fla. — President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney slugged it out over foreign policy Monday night, delivering sharply different views about whether the Obama administration’s handling of international affairs has advanced America’s standing in the world — or set it back.
But at times it seemed like they were sparring more over Obama’s tactics and style than on the substance of policy.
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reset POLITICO fact-check Romney hits on 'apology tour' Obama: Sequester won't happen
(Also on POLITICO: Obama, Romney best debate quotes)
Romney and Obama traded barbs and accusations about the White House’s response to last month’s killing of U.S. diplomats in Libya, as well as issues ranging from Iran’s nuclear program to the 11-year-old war in Afghanistan.
With foreign policy issues taking a backseat in the eyes of most American voters, the candidates may have felt they had a little more latitude for spin than they do on domestic issues. But some of the facts got lost in translation.
(Also on POLITICO: Obama tears into Romney at last debate)
Here’s POLITICO’s look at how the truth fared in Monday night’s debate:
Russia
Romney: “First of all, Russia I indicated is a geopolitical foe….It’s a geopolitical foe, and I said in the same — in the same paragraph I said, and Iran is the greatest national security threat we face. Russia does continue to battle us in the U.N. time and time again. I have clear eyes on this.”
This is a fight over synonyms.
Romney has never called Russia the No. 1 “enemy” or “threat” to the United States, despite Obama’s claims on multiple occasions, including Monday’s debate.
(PHOTOS: Scenes from the Boca Raton debate)
Romney did call Russia “without question our No. 1 geopolitical foe,” in a March interview with CNN, following Obama’s hot mic moment when he was caught telling outgoing Russian President Dmitri Medvedev that he’d have more freedom to negotiate on missile defense after the election.
In the same interview, Romney insisted that Russia stood out over other U.S. rivals, though he called a “nuclear” Iran “the greatest threat that the world faces” and added that North Korea with nuclear weapons “is already troubling enough.”
(Also on POLITICO: Transcript of the third presidential debate)
Asked again by CNN in July about his views on Russia, Romney explained that he was “talking about votes at the United Nations and actions of a geopolitical nature.” He also took issue with Russia’s support for Syrian leadership, but added, “Russia is a geopolitical adversary, but it’s not an enemy with, you know, missiles being fired at one another or things of that nature.” ||||| ABCNEWS.com ABC News' team of reporters and producers fact check the final presidential debate, which was held at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., and focused on foreign policy. (Click HERE for the full debate transcript and ABC News' debate analysis)
Romney's Education Record in Massachusetts ROMNEY: While I was governor, I was proud that our fourth graders came out number one of all states in English. And then also in math. And our eighth graders, number one in English, and also in math. First time one state had been number one in all four measures. How do we do that? Well, Republicans and Democrats came together on a bipartisan basis to put in place education principles that focused on having great teachers in the class room. [OBAMA: Ten years earlier]. And that was what allowed us to become the number one state in the nation. [OBAMA: But that was 10 years before you took office and then you cut education when you came into office]. The first - and we kept our schools number one in the nation, they're still number one today. And the principles that we put into place, we also gave kids not just a graduation exam that determined whether they were up to the skills needed to be able to compete, but also if they graduated in the top quarter of their class, they got a four-year tuition free ride at any Massachusetts public institution of higher learning. OBAMA: That happened before you came into office, Governor. ROMNEY: No, that was actually mine, Mr. President. You got that fact wrong. ABC News' John R. Parkinson and Jason Ryan report: Romney served as governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. It is true that Massachusetts led these areas in math and English scores for the National Assessment of Educational Progress during different periods of Romney's tenure as governor. The scores remain above the national average. So how much did Romney have to do with these numbers? When Obama says these achievements were the result of reforms that happened 10 years before Romney took office, he is referencing a 1993 state law that led to the creation of the state accountability system, which became the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System. It also authorized charter schools and invested more money in local school districts with the goal of improving standards for Massachusetts students, and it apparently worked. Trends show statewide results improved in the years leading into Romney's term but did not reach the top of the rankings until Romney took office as governor. Here is a table from the National Center for Education Statistics showing data from 1990 to 2011.
Is the Navy Shrinking? ROMNEY: Our Navy is old - excuse me, our Navy is smaller now than at any time since 1917. The Navy said they needed 313 ships to carry out their mission. We're now under 285. We're headed down to the low 200s if we go through a sequestration. That's unacceptable to me. The Washington Post gave this claim three Pinocchios. ABC News' Luis Martinez has the facts: There are currently 285 ships in the Navy's fleet. A report by Naval History and Heritage Command provides a look at the decrease in the number of Navy ships over the past 50 years since the peak during World War II. According to this study in 1917 the U.S. Navy had 245 ships. From that date on until 2003 the Navy maintained more than 300 ships in the fleet. The number of ships in the fleet fell to its lowest point in 2006 when there were 278 ships in the fleet. Since then the number of ships has increased to the current 285. Beginning in 2011 the U.S. Navy began adding two new submarines a year instead of the one a year it had been buying. The Navy is expected to add two Virginia Class attack submarines a year through fiscal year 2016. Romney aides have said he would like to see three new Virginia attack submarines added per year. Obama replied: "But I think Gov. Romney maybe hasn't spent enough time looking at how our military works. You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military's changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines. "And so the question is not a game of Battleship, where we're counting ships. It's what are our capabilities. And so when I sit down with the Secretary of the Navy and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, we determine how are we going to be best able to meet all of our defense needs in a way that also keeps faith with our troops, that also makes sure that our veterans have the kind of support that they need when they come home." "And that is not reflected in the kind of budget that you're putting forward because it just doesn't work." And ABC News' Luis Martinez adds that yes, the U.S. military - both the Army and Marines still use bayonets.
Did Obama Embark on an International Apology Tour in 2009? ROMNEY: "The president began what I've called an apology tour of going to various nations in the Middle East and criticizing America. I think they looked at that and saw weakness." ABC News' Matthew Larotonda has the facts: Independent fact check organizations have poured over the rhetoric of diplomatic apologies repeatedly during this election, and the results have been mostly in opposition. Most recently the governor has brought it into reference of the administration's response to the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya. Further back, the idea of an Obama " apology tour" has been a recurring attack for conservatives for a long time and has its roots in diplomatic travel the president undertook in 2009 shortly after taking office. Romney himself first took up the phrase in 2010 with his book, "No Apology: The Case for American Greatness," and has repeated the theme continuously on the campaign trail. "In his first nine months in office, President Obama has issued apologies and criticisms of America in speeches in France, England, Turkey, and Cairo; at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and the United Nations in New York City," the book reads in its first chapter. President Obama never formally regrets American policy during these speeches, rather taking a tone of reciprocal blame at times for diplomatic ties that may have been strained. At other times the president is drawing a distinction between his policies and those of his predecessor, President George W. Bush. During the 2009 Cairo speech for example, Obama comes close to regretting American actions in Iran during the overthrow of the Shah. But he immediately counters by pointing the finger at subsequent regimes for continued hostility. "In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian government," he said. "Since the Islamic Revolution, Iran has played a role in acts of hostage-taking and violence against U.S. troops and civilians. This history is well known." On his first visit to France, Obama again seemed to take responsibility for declining attitudes toward Americans abroad, for policies that have shown "arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive." But on the flip side he immediately derided Europeans for "casual" and "insidious" anti-Americanism. "On both sides of the Atlantic these attitudes have become all too common," he said. "They are not wise. They do not represent the truth. They threaten to widen the divide across the Atlantic and leave us more isolated." All of these remarks fall short of formally apologizing for American diplomacy, but some of the president's most conciliatory remarks have come regarding the detainees of Guantanamo Bay. At the 2009 National Archives speech on terrorism, Obama said the military prison's use was "based on fear than foresight," and that "it likely created more terrorists around the world than it ever detained."
Was Obama Silent During Iran's Green Revolution? ROMNEY: When the students took to the streets in Tehran and the people there protested, the Green Revolution occurred for the president to be silent I thought was an enormous mistake. ABC News' Dana Hughes, Sarah Parnass and Serena Marshall have the facts: Romney has repeatedly accused President Obama of sitting on the sidelines during the protests in Iran that followed a disputed presidential election on June 12, 2009. But the president was not entirely silent. Three days after the election, Obama said in a press avail: "I want to start off by being very clear that it is up to Iranians to make decisions about who Iran's leaders will be; that we respect Iranian sovereignty and want to avoid the United States being the issue inside of Iran, which sometimes the United States can be a handy political football -- or discussions with the United States. Having said all that, I am deeply troubled by the violence that I've been seeing on television. I think that the democratic process -- free speech, the ability of people to peacefully dissent -- all those are universal values and need to be respected. And whenever I see violence perpetrated on people who are peacefully dissenting, and whenever the American people see that, I think they're, rightfully, troubled. My understanding is, is that the Iranian government says that they are going to look into irregularities that have taken place. We weren't on the ground, we did not have observers there, we did not have international observers on hand, so I can't state definitively one way or another what happened with respect to the election." It wasn't until 8 days later when Obama held a press conference on June 23, 2009 that he strongly spoke out: "The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, the beatings, and imprisonments of the last few days. I strongly condemn these unjust actions, and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost. I've made it clear that the United States respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and is not interfering with Iran's affairs. But we must also bear witness to the courage and the dignity of the Iranian people, and to a remarkable opening within Iranian society. And we deplore the violence against innocent civilians anywhere that it takes place." Secretary Clinton clarified the Obama Administration's actions in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria on Aug. 9, 2009. Clinton said that the Obama administration was trying to balance leaving the revolution in the hands of the protesters with intervening behind the scenes. "We knew that, if we stepped in too soon, too hard, the attention might very well shift and the leadership would try to use us to unify the country against the protesters," Clinton said. "Now, behind the scenes, we were doing a lot, as you know. One of our young people in the State Department got twittered, you know, 'Keep going,' despite the fact that they had planned for a technical shutdown. So, we were doing a lot to really empower the protesters without getting in the way. And we're continuing to speak out and support the opposition." The request by the member of the State Department that Clinton referenced spurred criticism for the administration. Technology and social movement researcher Evgeny Morozov wrote in his book, "The Net Delusion," that because of this incident, Iranian officials came to see the Internet as a way for the West to infiltrate Iran and may have led to the arrests of Iranian bloggers.
Romney's Recommendations on Libya OBAMA: To the governor's credit you supported us going into Libya and the coalition that we organized but when it came time to making sure that Kaddafi didn't stay in power, that he was captured, Governor, your suggestion was that this was mission creep, that this was mission muddle. Imagine if we had pulled out at that time. ABC News' Serena Marshall and Chris Good have the facts: Obama is referring to Romney's op-ed titled "Mission Middle" posted at Nationalreview.com on April 21. He wrote that he had supported President Obama's "specific, limited mission," which he said the president had defined "as humanitarian: We would enforce a no-fly zone to prevent Libyan forces from bombing civilians. I support that." But noting that President Obama had joined UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy in an op-ed that said "to succeed, Qaddafi must go and go for good," Romney attacked the president, saying, "It is apparent that our military is engaged in much more than enforcing a no-fly zone. What we are watching in real time is another example of mission creep and mission muddle." Later, after Qaddafi's death Romney aide Eric Fehrnstrom said: "Mitt Romney supported the initial humanitarian mission-as articulated by President Obama-to enforce a no-fly zone. As the mission went on, however, it became clear that President Obama had no idea about his intentions in Libya and that's when Mitt warned against mission muddle and mission creep. The fall from power and subsequent death of Qaddafi brings to end a brutal chapter in Libya's history-but that does not validate the president's approach to Libya. The credit goes to the people of Libya." Romney supported involvement, but he criticized the multilateral approach in a March 21, 2011 interview with Hugh Hewitt, saying "we're following the French into Libya" and suggesting Obama delegated U.S. foreign policy to the U.N. HH: What is your reaction to President Obama's announcement of air strikes on Libya? MR: Well, first, I support military action in Libya. I support our troops there and the mission that they've been given. But let me also note that thus far, the president has been unable to construct a foreign policy, any foreign policy. I think it's fair to ask, you know, what is it that explains the absence of any discernable foreign policy from the president of the United States? And I believe that it flows from his fundamental disbelief in American exceptionalism. In the president's world, all nations have common interests, the lines between good and evil are blurred, America's history merits apology. And without a compass to guide him in our increasingly turbulent world, he's tentative, indecisive, timid and nuanced. And as a result, I think, he says, for instance, he's committed to our success in Afghanistan unless it means commitment beyond 2011. He stands with our ally, Israel, but condemns its settlement policy even more forcefully than he condemns Hamas' rockets. And he calls for the removal of Muammar Qaddafi, but then conditions our action on the directions we get from the Arab League and the United Nations.
Did Romney Say We Should Still Have Troops in Iraq? OBAMA: Just a few weeks ago you said you think we should have more troops in Iraq right now and the challenge we have. I know you have not been in a position to actually execute foreign policy, but every time you have offered an opinion you have been wrong. ABC News' Luis Martinez has the facts: It is true that Mitt Romney was critical of President Obama's decision to pull combat troops out of Iraq. And on Oct. 8th, during a foreign policy speech he delivered at the Virginia Military Institute, Romney said the pullout from Iraq was too abrupt. "In Iraq, the costly gains made by our troops are being eroded by rising violence, a resurgent Al Qaeda, the weakening of democracy in Baghdad, and the rising influence of Iran. And yet, America's ability to influence events for the better in Iraq has been undermined by the abrupt withdrawal of our entire troop presence. The president tried - and failed - to secure a responsible and gradual drawdown that would have better secured our gains," Romney said at VMI. Read the transcript of Romney's VMI speech. Romney's speech does not specifically say he would prefer to still have American combat troops still in Iraq. But it does clearly imply the president's pullout was too fast. He was critical of the president while the pullout was occurring too. At a Nov. 11, 2011, roundtable meeting with veterans in South Carolina, Romney criticized the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq was a mistake. "You probably know that it is my view that the withdrawal of all of our troops from Iraq by the end of this year is an enormous mistake and a failing by the Obama administration. Secretary Panetta and others had indicated they were working to put in place a Status of Forces Agreement to maintain our presence there, so that we could most effectively transition to the Iraqi military and Iraqi security forces providing security for their country," Romney said. "The precipitous withdrawal is unfortunate. It's more than unfortunate. I think it's tragic. It puts at risk many of the victories that were hard-won by the men and women who have served there. I hope the risk is not realized. I hope instead that the Iraqis are able to pick up the baton, and despite the fact that we will have walked away on a too-rapid basis." It is also true that the Obama administration actually wanted to keep troops in the country for a while longer. In October the talks between the U.S. and Iraq intended to extend the U.S. military presence in Iraq beyond the pullout date of December 2011 collapsed. President Obama announced that all U.S. troops would pull out by the end of 2011. Gen. Dempsey told the Senate Armed Services Committee on December 15, 2011 that the U.S. was seeking to keep 3,000 American troops beyond the pullout date. He said that the proposals had originally started with keeping 16,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and then was revised downward to 10,000. Dempsey told Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that no U.S. military commander had recommended a complete U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. The last combat troops left Iraq in December of 2011. Read more about the pullout here. How many troops would Romney have kept in Iraq if the talks with that country had been successful? According to the Mother Jones transcript of the video of his secret May 17 "47 percent" speech Romney said: "And the American people are not concentrated at all on China, on Russia, Iran, Iraq. This president's failure to put in place a status forces agreement allowing 10,000-20,000 troops to stay in Iraq? Unthinkable!" This number is consistent with what Romney said back in December 2011 on an appearance on "Fox and Friends." Romney said he would have sought a deal that would have kept between 10 and 30,000 US troops in Iraq beyond 2011. "Well, first of all if I were president, I would have carried out the status of forces agreement that was long anticipated that actually Secretary Panetta, President Obama, Secretary of Defense indicated he wanted to have as well, which would have allowed to us have somewhere between 10 and 30,000 troops in Iraq," Romney said. ||||| Voters didn't always get the straight goods when President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney made their case for foreign policy and national security leadership Monday night before their last super-sized audience of the campaign. A few of their detours into domestic issues were problematic too.
Romney flubbed Middle East geography. Obama got Romney's record as Massachusetts governor wrong.
At the same time, they injected a little more accuracy into two leading misstatements of the campaign: Romney's claim for months that Obama went around apologizing for America, and the president's assertion, going back to his State of the Union address in January, that the U.S. military's exit from Afghanistan will yield money to rebuild America.
A look at some of their statements and how they compare with the facts:
ROMNEY: "Mr. President, the reason I call it an apology tour is because you went to the Middle East and you flew to Egypt and to Saudi Arabia and to Turkey and Iraq. And by the way, you skipped Israel, our closest friend in the region, but you went to the other nations. And by the way, they noticed that you skipped Israel. And then in those nations, and on Arabic TV, you said that America had been dismissive and derisive. You said that on occasion America had dictated to other nations."
OBAMA: "Nothing Gov. Romney just said is true, starting with this notion of me apologizing. This has been probably the biggest whopper that's been told during the course of this campaign. And every fact checker and every reporter who's looked at it, governor, has said this is not true."
THE FACTS: Romney has indeed repeatedly and wrongly accused the president of traveling the world early in his presidency and apologizing for U.S. behavior. Obama didn't say "sorry" in those travels. But in this debate, Romney at last explained the context of his accusation: not that Obama apologized literally, but that he had been too deferential in his visits to Europe, Latin America and the Muslim world.
Obama said while abroad that the U.S. acted "contrary to our traditions and ideals" in its treatment of terrorist suspects, that "America has too often been selective in its promotion of democracy," that the U.S. "certainly shares blame" for international economic turmoil and has sometimes "shown arrogance and been dismissive, even divisive" toward Europe. Yet he also praised America and its ideals.
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OBAMA: "What I think the American people recognize is, after a decade of war, it's time to do some nation-building here at home. And what we can now do is free up some resources to, for example, put Americans back to work, especially our veterans, rebuilding our roads, our bridges, our schools."
THE FACTS: If Romney's "apology tour" was a campaign whopper, so has been Obama's repeated claim that ending expensive wars meant the U.S. now has money to spend at home. There is no such peace dividend because the wars were financed largely by borrowing.
Yet Obama, too, watched his words a little more carefully Monday night, with his milder suggestion that "some resources" are freed up. That's a more plausible point, if only because U.S. "resources" include the ability to continue to go deeper in debt, but for the purpose of fixing roads, bridges and the like, instead of for making war.
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ROMNEY: "Syria is Iran's only ally in the Arab world. It's their route to the sea."
THE FACTS: Iran has a large southern coastline with access to the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. And it has no land border with Syria.
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ROMNEY: Said that when he was Massachusetts governor, high-school students who graduated in the top quarter "got a four-year, tuition-free ride at any Massachusetts public institution of higher learning."
OBAMA: "That happened before you came into office."
ROMNEY: "That was actually mine, actually, Mr. President. You got that fact wrong."
THE FACTS: Romney was right. The John and Abigail Adams scholarship program began in 2004 when he was governor.
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ROMNEY: "I said that we would provide guarantees, and that was what was able to allow these (auto) companies to go through bankruptcy, to come out of bankruptcy. Under no circumstance would I do anything other than to help this industry get on its feet. And the idea that has been suggested that I would liquidate the industry. Of course not. That's the height of silliness. I have never said I would liquidate the industry."
OBAMA: "Gov. Romney, you keep on trying to airbrush history here. You were very clear that you would not provide government assistance to the U.S. auto companies, even if they went through bankruptcy. You said that they could get it in the private marketplace. That wasn't true. They would have gone through a liquidation."
THE FACTS: It's true that Romney didn't preach liquidation of GM and Chrysler and that he saw his approach as a way to save the auto companies. But his was an improbable course. Opposing a government bailout, Romney instead favored private loans to finance the automakers' restructuring in bankruptcy court. His proposed government loan guarantees would only have come after the companies went through bankruptcy. At the time, however, both automakers were nearly out of cash and were bad credit risks. The banking system was in crisis and private money wasn't available. So without hefty government aid, the assets of both companies probably would have been sold in liquidation auctions.
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ROMNEY on SYRIA: "What I'm afraid of is we've watched over the past year or so, first the president saying, `Well, we'll let the U.N. deal with it.' And Assad _ excuse me, Kofi Annan _ came in and said we're going to try to have a cease-fire. That didn't work. Then it went to the Russians and said, `Let's see if you can do something.' We should be playing the leadership role there."
OBAMA: "We are playing the leadership role."
THE FACTS: Under Obama, the United States has taken a lead in trying to organize Syria's splintered opposition, even if the U.S. isn't interested in military intervention or providing direct arms support to the rebels. The administration has organized dozens of meetings in Turkey and the Middle East aimed at rallying Syria's political groups and rebel formations to agree on a common vision for a democratic future after Syrian President Bashar Assad is defeated. And Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton brought dozens of nations together as part of the Friends of Syria group to combine aid efforts to Syria's opposition and help it win the support of as many as Syrians as possible. The U.S. also is involved in vetting recipients of military aid from America's Arab allies like Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Romney is partly right in pointing out Obama's failure to win U.N. support for international action in Syria. But the Friends of Syria group has helped bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid and other forms of assistance to Syrian civilians and the political opposition.
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OBAMA: "What I would not have had done was left 10,000 troops in Iraq that would tie us down. And that certainly would not help us in the Middle East." THE FACTS: Obama was suggesting that he had never favored keeping U.S. troops in Iraq beyond the December 2011 withdrawal deadline that the Bush administration had negotiated with the Iraqi government. Actually, the Obama administration tried for many months to win Iraqi agreement to keeping several thousand American troops there beyond 2011 to continue training and advising the Iraqi armed forces. The talks broke down over a disagreement on legal immunity for U.S. troops.
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ROMNEY: "We have an enormous trade imbalance with China, and it's worse this year than last year and it's worse last year than the year before."
THE FACTS: That's true as far as it goes but the imbalance is far from unique to the Obama years. The U.S. has run a trade deficit with China since 1985 and the gap has widened nearly every year since. According to Chinese customs data, Beijing reported a $181.3 billion trade surplus with the United States in 2010. That grew to $202.3 billion last year. The surplus for the first nine months of this year was $161.9 billion, well ahead of the level at this point in 2011.
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OBAMA: "You are familiar with jobs being shipped overseas because you invested in companies that were shipping jobs overseas. And, you know, that's your right. I mean, that's how our free market works."
THE FACTS: Bain Capital, the private equity company that Romney ran from 1984 to 2001, did invest in several companies that shifted American jobs and operations from the U.S. to China and other foreign nations. In one instance in 1998, Bain bought a 10 percent investment stake in Global-Tech, a Hong Kong firm that used mainland Chinese factories to make toasters and other appliances for U.S. manufacturers that were phasing out American operations and jobs. Romney held full Bain partnership stakes in that deal before the firm sold its holding later that year. Bain also invested in several firms that outsourced to Mexico in the early 2000s, but by then Romney had begun shifting away from Bain to a role running the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. And in almost all of these cases, it remains unclear how much oversight Bain had in the overseas shifts. The Romney campaign has said that Romney's holdings were mostly passive in nature, particularly after he left the firm.
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ROMNEY: "In the 2000 debates, there was no mention of terrorism."
THE FACTS: There was passing mention of terrorism in the 2000 debates. In the Oct. 17, 2000, debate between Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush, Gore talked about his work in Congress to "deal with the problems of terrorism and these new weapons of mass destruction." And in the vice presidential debate, Democrat Joe Lieberman defended the Clinton administration's record of preparing the armed forces to "meet the threats of the new generation of tomorrow, of weapons of mass destruction, of ballistic missiles, terrorism, cyber warfare." Romney's larger point, that the U.S. did not anticipate anything on the scale of terrorist threat that existed, is supported by the light attention paid to the subject in the debates.
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Associated Press writers Bradley Klapper, Robert Burns, Tom Raum and Stephen Braun in Washington, Charles Hutzler in Beijing and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.
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– President Obama called Mitt Romney's claim of a presidential "apology tour" a giant "whopper"—but Romney wasn't the only one offering misleading information last night, the AP reports. A rundown of some of the debate's inaccuracies: Obama wasn't apologizing on his foreign tour early in his presidency. Instead, he acknowledged US foreign policy missteps—but also saluted American ideals. Romney's claim that Syria is Iran's "route to the sea" is just geographically wrong: Iran is on the Persian Gulf and doesn't border Syria on land. Obama's implication that ending wars will free up money at home is largely incorrect, since the wars were run on borrowed cash. Contrary to Obama's argument, a tuition payment program for top students at Massachusetts public institutions did occur under Romney. Romney said the idea that he'd liquidate the auto industry was "silliness"—but had his bankruptcy plan been put into action, the struggling companies would likely have faced liquidation. The US isn't playing a "leadership role" in Syria, according to Romney. In fact, the Obama administration has been active in helping shape the opposition and bringing hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid to the country. Romney said he'd indict Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, apparently for threats against Israel. But threats don't appear to be grounds for such an indictment under the Genocide Convention, notes the Washington Post. Obama overstated Romney's comment that we shouldn't move "heaven and earth" to get Osama bin Laden. Days later, Romney said that "we'll move everything to get him," but it's not just about bin Laden—it's about fighting the "Islamic jihad movement" as a whole. Romney did call Russia "our No. 1 geopolitical foe," but in the same interview, he said Iran was the world's "greatest threat," Politico points out. And while Obama was technically correct that the US military might "have fewer bayonets," it does still use them, notes ABC News.
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Image copyright Reuters Image caption Sean Combs, also known as Diddy, is a rapper, record producer and entrepreneur
Rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs, also known by his stage names Puff Daddy and P Diddy, has been revealed as the buyer of a Kerry James Marshall painting that fetched $21.1m (£15.6m) at auction.
The sum is believed to be the most ever paid for a work by a living African-American artist.
The painting, Past Times, depicts black Americans picnicking, waterskiing and listening to music in a Chicago park.
It measures up at an imposing four metres (13ft) wide.
Jack Shainman, Marshall's gallerist and art dealer, confirmed the identity of the new owner. "I know that this work has found a home in a collection with purpose and an eye toward preserving legacy - that of Sean Combs - and that means a lot," he told the New York Times.
Image copyright Kerry James Marshall/Jack Shainman Gallery Image caption Past Times sold for more than 800 times its 1997 price of $25,000
Diddy went to Sotheby's auction house to view the picture, according to the paper.
The painting had been expected to fetch around $8m. In the event, its price was four times higher than the previous record for a work by 62-year-old Marshall.
Chicago's Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) sold Past Times for more than 800 times what it paid in 1997, the year the work was completed.
The MPEA originally bought the piece for $25,000 from the Los Angeles Koplin Gallery.
Marshall is known for painting scenes of African-American life. He was born in Alabama, and grew up in south central Los Angeles before moving to Chicago.
The artist received a MacArthur Foundation genius grant in 1997, and previously taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
The MPEA is required to spend a share of its budget on art for public display, and currently owns more than 100 pieces.
Past Times had hung in the McCormick Place Convention Centre in Chicago, gradually accruing value.
Sotheby's said there had been four bidders for the picture. Combs' winning bid was apparently delivered by phone.
You may also be interested in: ||||| Sean Combs, the rapper and producer known as P. Diddy, has been revealed to be the acquirer of Past Times, 1997, the Kerry James Marshall painting that sold at auction on Wednesday for $21.1 million, a price that, at nearly double the original estimate from Sotheby’s, shattered both expectations and the record for a living African American artist.
Jack Shainman, Marshall’s New York dealer, verified to the New York Times that Combs was the work’s buyer. “I know that this work has found a home in a collection with purpose and an eye toward preserving legacythat of Sean Combs, and that means a lot,” Shainman, who has represented Marshall since 1993, told the New York Times.
The painting, which debuted at the Whitney Biennial in 1997, was sold to the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority in Chicago that same year for $25,000. The thirteen-by-nine-foot canvas, which depicts a black family picnicking in a Chicago park, was displayed in the agency’s McCormick Place convention building for years.
The hip-hop artist began collecting art in 2011 and was introduced to Marshall’s work by musician and producer Swiss Beatz, who is also a passionate art collector (Combs’s collection also includes works by Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Ai Weiwei, and Jean-Michel Basquiat). Marshall’s work has received increased recognition lately due to numerous museum shows, including major retrospectives at the Met Breuer in New York and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. “The world is recognizing Kerry James Marshall for the master that he is,” Shainman said.
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– The mystery art collector who phoned in the winning $21.1 million bid at a Sotheby’s auction for a painting by African-American artist Kerry James Marshall has been revealed. That someone has turned out to be Grammy Award-winning record producer Sean Combs, aka Diddy, reports Marshall’s long-time art dealer, Jack Shainman. Entitled Past Times, the 13 x 9 foot canvas is a vibrant portrayal of a black family picnicking, boating, and waterskiing in a Chicago park. The hefty purchase price is believed to be the highest ever paid for a painting by a living African-American artist, notes the BBC. The painting was first sold to the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority in Chicago for $25,000 in 1997, reports Artforum. It was expected to fetch about $8 million. Known for his compelling scenes of African-American life, the 62-year-old classically trained painter was born in Alabama and lived in south central Los Angeles and Chicago, where he taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The painting will go into Combs' extensive collection, which includes artwork from Keith Haring, Ai Weiwei, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Andy Warhol. Combs has been collecting art since 2011. "I know that this work has found a home in a collection with purpose and an eye toward preserving legacy—that of Sean Combs, and that means a lot," Shainman tells the New York Times. Combs outbid four other prospective buyers.
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This collection broadly documents online sources related to Delaware policy, politics and government, including websites and social media sites of current and former members of Congress; Delaware political parties; Delaware individuals who represent leadership in diplomatic or political arenas, domestic or foreign, at the local, state, and national levels; institutions, organizations, or groups concerned with public policy or civic affairs in Delaware; and Delaware political campaign websites. ||||| The system has failed. It’s heart breaking to see a young girl sex trafficked then when she has the courage to fight back is jailed for life! We have to do better & do what’s right. I’ve called my attorneys yesterday to see what can be done to fix this. # FreeCyntoiaBrownpic.twitter.com/73y26mLp7u ||||| Celebrities have come in force to support sex trafficking victim Cyntoia Brown. In 2004, Brown was sentenced to life in prison when she was 16 years old for killing the man who paid her for sex.
A photo that carried a caption loosely detailing Brown’s controversial trial surfaced online on Monday and went viral. It was shared by stars like Kim Kardashian, Rihanna, T.I and several others.
The image originated from filmmaker Daniel Birman’s 2011 documentary following the Tennessee-native’s case. The film gave insight on the physical, sexual and verbal abuse Brown suffered as a child before she was solicited for sex by 43-year-old realtor Johnny Mitchell Allen. Brown shot and killed Allen after being taken to his home.
Speaking with Tennessee’s Fox17 Nashville on Thursday, Birman explained Brown came from a family with a long history of sexual and physical abuse toward women.
“We started the conversation [with Brown being] a young girl who’s at the tail end of three generations of violence against women,” he said. “She had no chance.”
During Brown’s trial in 2004, she testified that being beaten, choked, dragged and raped was a regular occurrence in her household. She was often threatened at gunpoint. Her legal team argued the trauma of her childhood is essentially what led her shoot Allen after engaging in intercourse with him, which he paid for.
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Even though Brown was legally a child when Allen paid her for sex, she was given a life sentence on murder and prostitution charges. She is eligible for parole after serving 51 years behind bars.
Birman’s documentary helped change sex trafficking and prostitution laws in Tennessee. Now only adults 18 years and older can be charged for prostitution. Children are deemed victims of sex trafficking in the state. But the new law didn't pertain to Brown.
Brown, now 29, has already spent nearly 13 years in prison. She completed her associate's degree behind bars and is reportedly working on her bachelors. She also serves as an unpaid consultant at the Juvenile Justice system.
A number of Tennessee residents rallied for Brown’s freedom, launching a clemency petition. So far, it has received more than 100,000 signatures.
Celebrities in the hip-hop community took to Instagram and Twitter to advocate against the unfair sentencing of people of color. In early November, a number of music industry elites launched a rally to fight the “unfair and unjust” sentencing of rapper Meek Mill, who was ordered to serve a 2 to 4-year prison sentence for violating his parole. ||||| In 2004, Cyntoia Brown was arrested for murder. There was no question that a 43-year-old man is dead and that she killed him. What mystified filmmaker Daniel Birman was just how common violence among youth is, and just how rarely we stop to question our assumptions about it. He wondered in this case what led a girl — who grew up in a reasonable home environment — to this tragic end? MORE
Me Facing Life: Cyntoia’s Story explores Cyntoia’s history and her future. Without attempting to excuse her crime as youthful indiscretion nor to vilify her as an example of a generation gone off the rails, Birman simply follows Cyntoia through six years of her life after the crime, and searches for answers to persistent questions.
The camera first glimpses Cyntoia the week of her arrest at age 16 and follows her for nearly six years. Along the way, nationally renowned juvenile forensic psychiatrist, Dr. William Bernet from Vanderbilt University, assesses her situation. We meet Ellenette Brown, Cyntoia’s adoptive mother who talks about the young girl’s early years. Georgina Mitchell, Cyntoia’s biological mother, meets her for the first time since she gave her up for adoption 14 years earlier. When we meet Cyntoia’s maternal grandmother, Joan Warren, some patterns begin to come into sharp focus.
Cyntoia wrestles with her fate. She is stunningly articulate, and spends the time to put the pieces of this puzzle together with us. Cyntoia's pre-prison lifestyle was nearly indistinguishable from her mother's at the same age. History — seemingly predestined by biology and circumstance — repeats itself through each generation in this family.
Cyntoia is tried as an adult, and the cameras are there when she is convicted and sentenced to life at the Tennessee Prison for Women. After the verdict, Cyntoia calls her mom to tell her the news.
In the end, we catch up with Cyntoia as she is adjusting to prison, and struggling with her identity and hope for her future.
The Filmmaker
Daniel H. Birman is the producer and director of Me Facing Life: Cyntoia’s Story. Previously, Birman produced the highly acclaimed documentary Brace for Impact: The Chesley B. Sullenberger Story, which aired on TLC and the Discovery Channel. LESS
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– If the name Cyntoia Brown isn't familiar, that could change soon thanks to the advocacy of Rihanna and other celebs. An Instagram post by Rihanna caused the hashtag FREECYNTOIABROWN to go viral Tuesday, reports the Tennessean. The 29-year-old Brown is serving a life sentence in Tennessee for a murder she committed at age 16. She's not eligible for parole until age 69, which advocates call an outrage because they say Brown had been a victim of child sex trafficking when the killing took place. In 2004, a 43-year-old realtor named Johnny Mitchell Allen picked up Brown in his truck and brought her back to his home for paid sex. While there, she fatally shot him in bed, though Brown says she thought Allen had been reaching for a gun. "Did we somehow change the definition of #JUSTICE," wrote Rihanna. "Something is horribly wrong when the system enables these rapists and the victim is thrown away for life! To each of you responsible for this child's sentence I hope to God you don't have children, because this could be your daughter being punished for punishing already!" Fellow celebs including Kim Kardashian West have echoed the message. Brown, who has gotten her associate's degree in prison and is considered a model prisoner, was the subject of a documentary that changed the state's laws on prostitution and sex trafficking, though the changes came too late for her benefit, per Newsweek. Now, a 16-year-old would be considered a victim of sex trafficking, not a prostitute. The film also documented the years of physical and sexual abuse Brown suffered, as a child and teen.
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Summer Zervos, right, listens to her attorney Gloria Allred during a news conference where she announced she has filed a defamation lawsuit against President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday in Los Angeles. (Mike Nelson/EPA)
A former contestant on the reality show “The Apprentice” filed a defamation lawsuit Tuesday against President-elect Donald Trump over his response to her allegations that he groped her during a job interview in 2007.
Summer Zervos, a California restaurant owner who appeared on the show in 2006, accused Trump of aggressively kissing and grabbing her when she went to his bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel to discuss a possible job at the Trump Organization a year later.
In her suit, Zervos alleges that Trump defamed her when he denied her account of their interactions in the hotel room, accusing her and other women who made similar accusations of lying and fabricating their accounts. Zervos said she would drop her lawsuit, which was filed in New York, without seeking monetary damages if Trump would retract his claim that she lied and acknowledge his actions.
[Read Summer Zervos’s legal complaint]
Zervos appeared at a Los Angeles news conference alongside her lawyer, Gloria Allred, who said Zervos took and passed a lie-
detector test before filing her suit.
(Reuters)
“Enough is enough,” Allred said. “Truth matters. Women matter. Those who allege they were victims of sexual misconduct or sexual assault by Mr. Trump matter.” Allred said that as the lawsuit proceeds, she would seek to depose Trump under oath and could also seek to subpoena recordings Trump made during tapings of “The Apprentice.”
Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks responded in a statement: “More of the same from Gloria Allred. There is no truth to this absurd story.”
Eleven women spoke publicly before the election, accusing Trump of inappropriately touching or kissing them. They stepped forward after Trump denied ever touching a woman without her consent during a presidential debate in October.
“Have you ever done those things?” Trump was asked by CNN’s Anderson Cooper, regarding comments Trump made during a taping of “Access Hollywood” in 2005, when he bragged about groping and kissing women without their prior permission. “I will tell you: No, I have not,” Trump responded.
During the campaign, Trump asserted that each of his accusers was lying and vowed to sue the women for making the claims.
“Total fabrication,” he said during a campaign rally in Gettysburg, Pa., in October. “The events never happened. Never. All of these liars will be sued after the election is over.”
Without evidence, he said the women were coordinating with the campaign of his rival, Hillary Clinton. He also mocked some of the women, suggesting they were not attractive enough for him to sexually harass.
Summer Zervos listens as her attorney Gloria Allred speaks during a news conference announcing the filing of a lawsuit against President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday in Los Angeles. (Mike Blake/Reuters)
[Here are the women who accused Donald Trump of inappropriate touching]
“Look at her, and look at her words. And you tell me what you think. I don’t think so,” Trump said at a rally about one of his accusers, a People Magazine reporter who said Trump shoved her against a wall and forcibly kissed her while she was at his Florida Mar-a-Lago estate on assignment in 2005.
Trump has not yet filed suit against any of the women.
The Supreme Court has ruled that presidents can be sued while in office over their private conduct or activities before their election. The ruling came after President Bill Clinton sought to have a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Arkansas state worker Paula Jones delayed until after he left office.
The Clinton case shows the potential peril of such suits for a sitting president. Clinton ultimately settled with Jones, but allegations that he had lied under oath during a deposition in the matter about his relations with intern Monica Lewinsky led to his impeachment.
Trump has already settled other lawsuits to ensure they do not linger into his presidency. In November, he agreed to pay $25 million to settle lawsuits accusing his defunct real estate seminar program Trump University of fraud. He did not admit fault.
In her suit, Zervos asserted that she had gone to the Los Angeles hotel to discuss a possible job with Trump after he had been complimentary of her performance on the television show. In the room, she alleged that Trump kissed her aggressively and groped her breast. As she attempted to reject his advances, she said Trump steered her toward the bedroom, saying, “let’s lay down and watch some telly telly.”
“Come on man, get real,” she replied, according to the suit. Trump then “repeated her words back to her lasciviously, drawing out the second word and saying, ‘get reeeeal,’ as he began to press his genitals against her, trying to kiss her again,” the suit alleges.
Immediately after leaving Trump, Zervos told her father about the encounter, according to the suit.
Zervos said she excused Trump’s behavior for years, particularly because she was ultimately offered a job at the Trump Organization, but she had been compelled to step forward after hearing the presidential candidate brag to “Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush about behaving similarly with other women.
According to the suit, the tape convinced Zervos that Trump was “a sexual predator who had preyed on her and other women.” She claimed his dismissal of her as a “phony” and her account as a “hoax” had resulted in lost business for her restaurant and emotional distress.
Zervos is one of four of Trump’s accusers represented by Allred, who also represents more than two dozen women who have accused comedian Bill Cosby of sexual assault.
In the suit, Zervos alleges that Trump knew his statements were defamatory, not just because he knew the truth of their interactions but also because he knew “he engaged regularly in this kind of unwanted sexual touching for years, and that was, in fact, how he treated women routinely and how he lived his life.”
If the case is allowed to proceed, the claim could allow Allred to explore other allegations made by women against Trump. ||||| Just days before he's set to be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump has been hit with a defamation lawsuit from a former Apprentice contestant who says he engaged in sexually inappropriate contact with her.
Shortly before Election Day, Trump faced a barrage of sexual assault accusations from many women following the release of a bombshell video showing him boasting to Access Hollywood's Billy Bush about grabbing women's genitals. Sumner Zervos, who appeared on season five of The Apprentice, was one of the accusers. At that time, Trump responded at a rally in Pennsylvania, "All of these liars will be sued after the election is over."
Trump never sued. But Zervos hasn't let go.
On Tuesday, she appeared alongside her attorney Gloria Allred at a press conference to announce the suit, filed in New York.
Allred told The Hollywood Reporter in December that, even if Trump didn't follow up on his threat to sue his accusers for defamation, one of her clients might strike first.
Zervos accuses Trump of kissing her twice in 2007 and attacking her in a hotel room. According to her complaint, she confided in family and friends at the time. She alleges that Trump took an interest in mentoring her, and as a result, she "decided that Mr. Trump's behavior had either been an isolated set of incidents, or perhaps that he had even regretted the behavior. She continued to look up to him for his success as a businessman, and spoke highly of him after he announced his candidacy."
But that changed upon the revelation of the Access Hollywood tapes and the Oct. 9, 2016, debate where she alleges in the complaint, "Mr. Trump told the world a boldface lie: he stated in response to a direct question from Anderson Cooper that [he] had not ever done any of the things that he had bragged about to Billy Bush."
The complaint zeroes in on Trump's initial statement upon Zervos' allegation that he "never met [Ms. Zervos] at a hotel or greeted her inappropriately," along with tweets how his accuser "made up events THAT NEVER HAPPENED." She also points to comments of "100% fabricated and made-up charges," "totally false," and so forth, including, "Every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign."
"In doing so, he used his national and international bully pulpit to make false factual statements to denigrate and verbally attack Ms. Zervos and the other women who publicly reported his sexual assaults in October 2016," states the complaint (read here). "Mr. Trump knew that his false, disparaging statements would be heard and read by people around the world, and that these women, including Summer Zervos, would be subjected to threats of violence, economic harm, and reputational damage. In his effort to win the Presidency and counter the damage to his election prospects caused by his own recorded words with Billy Bush, Mr. Trump knowingly, intentionally and maliciously threw each and every one of these women under the bus, with conscious disregard of the impact that repeatedly calling them liars would have upon their lives and reputations."
Zervos likely wouldn't be able to prevail in a lawsuit for sexual assault thanks to the statute of limitations. Instead, she's echoing the legal strategy by many of Bill Cosby's accusers by suing over comments that allegedly branded her a liar. To win, she will have to show that Trump's statements were "of and concerning" her. Zervos also will need to beat back a defense likely to come from the president-elect — that his statement represented opinion. As shown in the Cosby cases, courts throughout the nation have come to different judgments about whether denials of sexual assault charges are capable of defamatory meaning.
Just last week, the president-elect beat a libel lawsuit filed against him by political strategist Cheryl Jacobus. She sued for defamation after Trump tweeted that she begged him for a job and he turned her down. The judge there ruled that Trump's statements qualified as opinions. Right before the holidays, the president-elect cleared another legal mess from his plate and agreed to a $25 million settlement to resolve the Trump University fraud lawsuits.
Suing a sitting president is logistically complicated, and courts often are deferential to their schedules, but Zervos will take some hope from the Supreme Court's 1996 ruling in Paula Jones' sexual harassment case against Bill Clinton. There, Justice John Paul Stevens decided that the U.S. Constitution doesn't protect the president from the burdens of private litigation. Instead, it's possible that Trump may have to give a deposition that explores his history with women, although his attorneys will surely attempt to limit the scope of questioning.
Zervos is seeking an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages, plus an order that he retract defamatory statements and apologize.
Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks issued a statement Tuesday afternoon in response to the suit: “More of the same from Gloria Allred. There is no truth to this absurd story.”
Jan. 17, 2:55 p.m. Updated with a statement from Trump's representative. ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
/ Updated By Daniella Silva
A woman who previously accused Donald Trump of unwanted sexual advances has filed a defamation lawsuit against the president elect — just three days before Trump’s presidential inauguration.
Summer Zervos, a former contestant on the “The Apprentice,” said in a press conference with attorney Gloria Allred in Los Angeles on Tuesday that she filed the lawsuit over allegedly false statements Trump made in response to her accusation.
Summer Zervos listens as her attorney Gloria Allred speaks during a news conference announcing the filing of a lawsuit against President-elect Donald Trump in Los Angeles, Calif., on Jan. 17, 2017. Mike Blake / Reuters
The suit, filed Tuesday morning, claims Trump knew his statements about Zervos and his other accusers would subject them to “threats of violence, economic harm and reputational damage.”
Allred said Zervos would be willing to dismiss the lawsuit without any monetary damages if Trump agreed to retract his comments about her and admit that the accusations against him were in fact true.
“Ms. Zervos is willing to dismiss her lawsuit if he will retract his false statements about her and acknowledge that what Summer said about Mr. Trump and his alleged conduct is and was the truth,” she said.
Related: The Allegations Women Have Made Against Donald Trump
Zervos claimed in an October press conference that Trump sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions during a 2007 business meeting at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
She said Trump made unwanted sexual advances toward her on multiple occasions during the meeting, kissing her on the lips, pressing himself against her and groping her breast and body without her consent.
Trump has vehemently denied the claims. In response to Tuesday's press conference, Trump's spokeswoman Hope Hicks provided the following statement to NBC News: "More of the same from Gloria Allred. There is no truth to this absurd story."
On the campaign trail, Trump said Zervos and his other accusers were liars, according to the lawsuit, and that she and the other women were motivated to come forward by the promise of “ten minutes of fame.”
“In doing so, he used his national and international bully pulpit to make false factual statements to denigrate and verbally attack Ms. Zervos and the other women who publicly reported his sexual assaults in October 2016,” the lawsuit said.
Allred said at the press conference on Tuesday that Zervos told friends and family about the incident at the time, but did not go public at the time because she decided her behavior had either been “an aberration or a test” or that Trump felt guilty about his behavior.
That all changed in the wake of the October release of a leaked video from 2005, where Trump bragged about kissing and groping women without their consent. After the video and Trump’s statements during the Oct. 9th presidential debate in which he denied he had ever done any of the things he bragged about, Zervos decided to take action, according to the lawsuit.
Related: Ex-’Apprentice’ Contestant Summer Zervos Says Trump Made Unwanted Sexual Advances
“For the first time, Summer Zervos saw Mr. Trump’s behavior towards her for what it was: that of a sexual predator who had preyed on her and other women,” the lawsuit says.
Following Zervos’ allegations, Trump released a statement from a man claiming to be her cousin which refuted her claims. But Zervos fought back with another press conference in which a social worker and friend of Zervos said the former “Apprentice” contestant told her about the claims more than five years ago.
Prior to the release of the tape, a handful of women have accused Trump of sexual harassment or assault for decades, including in court filings. The number of women has seen since grown in the wake of the tape’s release.
The video prompted a firestorm of controversy during the 2016 presidential campaign and an outcry from women’s rights groups.
Trump has since denied that he engaged in the behavior described in the tape and has said all of the accusations against him are false.
Zervos' suit also alleges emotional distress and is seeking financial damages.
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– During the election, eleven women accused Donald Trump of inappropriate touching or kissing, the Washington Post reports. Now one of them has sued him. According to NBC News, Summer Zervos filed a defamation lawsuit against the president-elect on Tuesday. Zervos, a former contestant on The Apprentice, claims Trump kissed her on the lips, pressed himself against her, and groped her breast without her permission during a 2007 meeting about a job with the Trump Organization. In response to the accusations, Trump called Zervos and the other women liars in search of their "ten minutes of fame." "All of these liars will be sued after the election is over," the Hollywood Reporter quotes Trump as saying during a rally in the fall. Now Zervos' lawyer, Gloria Allred, says Trump knew his comments would open the women up to "threats of violence, economic harm, and reputational damage." She's seeking to depose Trump under oath and seek recordings made during filming of The Apprentice. However, Allred says Zervos will dismiss her defamation suit if Trump admits her accusations about him are true. "Truth matters," the Post quotes Allred as saying. "Women matter." Allred says Zervos told her family and friends about the alleged assault when it happened and has passed a lie-detector test. Zervos says she decided to come forward after Trump was caught on tape bragging about grabbing women's genitals. Trump spokesperson Hope Hicks calls the allegations "absurd."
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(Oct. 22) -- A former Florida State football player who traveled to Singapore to get medical treatment for his pregnant wife now faces possible caning for overstaying his tourist visa. He would be the first U.S. citizen flogged in Singapore in 16 years.Kamari Charlton, 37, was a reserve tight end for FSU from 1992 to 1996, according to NBC Sports . He now owns a construction company in his native Bahamas, where he lives with his wife. When they traveled to Singapore late last year, Charlton's wife was on a six-month medical visa, while her husband had only a three-month tourist visa.He was arrested at the airport while trying to leave Singapore on Sept. 1, having overstayed his visa by 169 days, according to court documents excerpted by CNN . His wife was allowed to fly home to the Bahamas, and Charlton has been in jail since then.The former football star faces a mandatory sentence of three strokes of the cane and a six-month prison sentence, if found guilty. He has a preliminary hearing in a Singapore courtroom today.Charlton would be the first American caned in Singapore since 1994, when teenager Michael Fay was punished for vandalism. U.S. officials in the Clinton administration tried to intervene, but Fay's caning went ahead, though the government reduced the number of lashes.In August, a Swiss man got three strokes of the cane and seven months in prison for spraying graffiti on a train.U.S. Embassy officials have visited Charlton six times since he was arrested, Embassy spokeswoman Rachel Ehrendreich told CNN. "We remind U.S. citizens that foreigners in any country are subject to the laws of that country," she said. "We respect Singapore's right to try and sentence individuals within due process of law."In a court filing, Charlton acknowledged overstaying his visa, blaming it on bad advice he received from other foreigners in Singapore, The Wall Street Journal reported . But he's asking for leniency because unlike most immigration offenders, Charlton did not overstay his visa to take advantage of Singapore's strong economy by working illegally. Rather, he was assisting his ill wife.Charlton's wife's stay in Singapore was legal because she was on a medical visa, seeking treatment for complications in her pregnancy. The nature of her illness is unclear, as is the reason why the couple chose Singapore for treatment.Singapore has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, but human rights groups have criticized the city-state for harsh punishments like caning and excessive penalties like hanging drug dealers. ||||| An American who already may be caned for overstaying his visa in Singapore was charged with fraud Friday for allegedly scamming an Australian man out of thousands of dollars.
Prosecutors alleged Friday that calls made from Kamari Charlton's mobile phone in March deceived Mirko Prskalo into sending 17,145 Australian dollars ($16,853) in four payments. Prskalo was told that his nephew and family in Singapore urgently needed the money, court documents showed.
Police said they are also investigating Charlton for money laundering.
The 37-year-old Charlton was a reserve tight end and special teams player for Florida State University in the mid-1990s. He was arrested Sept. 1 when he attempted to leave the city-state 169 days after his 90-day social visit pass expired.
Staying in Singapore more than 90 days after the end of a visa is punishable with a maximum jail term of six months and at least three cane strokes. Cheating is punished with imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine.
If found guilty of the visa charge, Charlton would be the first American citizen caned in Singapore since 1994, when then-teenager Michael Fay was punished for vandalism.
U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Thursday that Charlton's case was being closely monitored by the U.S. Embassy, which was providing consular assistance.
Charlton changed lawyers Friday, dropping M. Ravi and hiring Hamidul Haq of Rajah & Tann. Haq declined to comment about whether his client planned to fight the charges.
Ravi had said Thursday that Charlton was in Singapore to accompany his wife who received medical care for pregnancy complications.
Police said Friday they were tipped off by criminal complaints made against Charlton through Interpol, the Lyon, France-based international police agency.
Charlton, who was born in the Bahamas, played in 11 games as a senior at Florida State in 1996. He was suspended by FSU in 1994 when he was charged with battery and sexual battery, and was later reinstated on the team when he was acquitted of all charges.
Haq said Charlton was previously offered bail but declined to pay it and will likely be detained at least until a pre-trail conference on Oct. 29.
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– An American citizen who faces caning in Singapore after overstaying his tourist visa has also been charged with fraud, the AP reports. The former Florida State football player was already at risk of being the first American to be caned in Singapore since 1994. Now he’s been slapped with charges of tricking an Australian man into paying him more than $16,000. Kamari Charlton traveled to Singapore to get medical treatment for his wife, who was on a medical visa while her husband was on a shorter tourist visa, AOL News reports; he was nabbed by authorities at the airport last month having overstayed his visa by 169 days. Now authorities say he made phone calls to an Australian man, warning him that his family needed cash for a medical emergency. On top of all that, Charlton is under investigation for money laundering. Click here for more.
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Must Reads
Nebraska Man Changes His Name To 'Tyrannosaurus Rex'
i itoggle caption Oli Scarff/Getty Images Oli Scarff/Getty Images
He made this decision before scientists told us that, back in the prehistoric day, dinosaur farts likely contributed to climate change:
Tyler Gold of York, Neb., is now officially named Tyrannosaurus Rex Joseph Gold, the local York News Times reports.
But there's no sign that Tyler ... er, Tyrannosaurus Rex ... is rethinking his choice because of any breaking news about breaking wind.
According to the News Times:
"In Gold's official filing with the court, he said he wanted to change his name 'because the (T-Rex designation) is cooler. Also, as an entrepreneur, name recognition is important and the new name is more recognizable.' He verbally repeated his reasoning during the court proceedings, while on the witness stand [Monday]."
Of course, he probably isn't even in first place on The Two-Way's list of guys with unusual names. Who's going to top Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop?
One last note: Here's another reason why this old hack/new blogger still loves local newspapers. Back in March, between notes about child support and divorce cases, the News Times slipped in a notice that the local court would be considering "the matter of the name change of Tyler Joseph Gold, York, ... seeking change to Tyrannosaurus Rex Joseph Gold." That's news you can use. ||||| Sorry, this zipcode is not in our deliverable area for this subscription service.
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– When he woke up yesterday, Tyrannosaurus Rex's name was Tyler Gold. But after a court hearing, the 23-year-old Nebraska man can legally call himself the king of the lizards, the York News Times reports, in a story spotted by NPR. Gold told the court he was changing his name "because the (T-Rex designation) is cooler. Also, as an entrepreneur, name recognition is important, and the new name is more recognizable." The court deemed that sensible, and now his legal name is Tyrannosaurus Rex Joseph Gold. Maybe he can hang out with Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop?
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Officials in Rick Perry's home state of Texas have set off a scientists' revolt after purging mentions of climate change and sea-level rise from what was supposed to be a landmark environmental report. The scientists said they were disowning the report on the state of Galveston Bay because of political interference and censorship from Perry appointees at the state's environmental agency.
By academic standards, the protest amounts to the beginnings of a rebellion: every single scientist associated with the 200-page report has demanded their names be struck from the document. "None of us can be party to scientific censorship so we would all have our names removed," said Jim Lester, a co-author of the report and vice-president of the Houston Advanced Research Centre.
"To me it is simply a question of maintaining scientific credibility. This is simply antithetical to what a scientist does," Lester said. "We can't be censored." Scientists see Texas as at high risk because of climate change, from the increased exposure to hurricanes and extreme weather on its long coastline to this summer's season of wildfires and drought.
However, Perry, in his run for the Republican nomination, has elevated denial of science, from climate change to evolution, to an art form. He opposes any regulation of industry, and has repeatedly challenged the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Texas is the only state to refuse to sign on to the federal government's new regulations on greenhouse gas emissions. "I like to tell people we live in a state of denial in the state of Texas," said John Anderson, an oceanography at Rice University, and author of the chapter targeted by the government censors.
That state of denial percolated down to the leadership of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The agency chief, who was appointed by Perry, is known to doubt the science of climate change. "The current chair of the commission, Bryan Shaw, commonly talks about how human-induced climate change is a hoax," said Anderson.
But scientists said they still hoped to avoid a clash by simply avoiding direct reference to human causes of climate change and by sticking to materials from peer-reviewed journals. However, that plan began to unravel when officials from the agency made numerous unauthorised changes to Anderson's chapter, deleting references to climate change, sea-level rise and wetlands destruction.
"It is basically saying that the state of Texas doesn't accept science results published in Science magazine," Anderson said. "That's going pretty far."
Officials even deleted a reference to the sea level at Galveston Bay rising five times faster than the long-term average – 3mm a year compared to .5mm a year – which Anderson noted was a scientific fact. "They just simply went through and summarily struck out any reference to climate change, any reference to sea level rise, any reference to human influence – it was edited or eliminated," said Anderson. "That's not scientific review that's just straight forward censorship."
Mother Jones has tracked the changes. The agency has defended its actions. "It would be irresponsible to take whatever is sent to us and publish it," Andrea Morrow, a spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. "Information was included in a report that we disagree with."
She said Anderson's report had been "inconsistent with current agency policy", and that he had refused to change it. She refused to answer any questions. Campaigners said the censorship by the Texas state authorities was a throwback to the George Bush era when White House officials also interfered with scientific reports on climate change.
In the last few years, however, such politicisation of science has spread to the states. In the most notorious case, Virginia's attorney general Ken Cuccinelli, who is a professed doubter of climate science, has spent a year investigating grants made to a prominent climate scientist Michael Mann, when he was at a state university in Virginia.
Several courts have rejected Cuccinelli's demands for a subpoena for the emails. In Utah, meanwhile, Mike Noel, a Republican member of the Utah state legislature called on the state university to sack a physicist who had criticised climate science doubters.
The university rejected Noel's demand, but the physicist, Robert Davies said such actions had had a chilling effect on the state of climate science. "We do have very accomplished scientists in this state who are quite fearful of retribution from lawmakers, and who consequently refuse to speak up on this very important topic. And the loser is the public," Davies said in an email.
"By employing these intimidation tactics, these policymakers are, in fact, successful in censoring the message coming from the very institutions whose expertise we need." ||||| Looking for news you can trust?
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Rick Perry takes Texas pride in being a climate change denier—and his administration acts accordingly.
Top environmental officials under Perry have gutted a recent report on sea level rise in Galveston Bay, removing all mentions of climate change. For the past decade, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), which is run by Perry political appointees, including famed global warming denier Bryan Shaw, has contracted with the Houston Advanced Research Center to produce regular reports on the state of the Bay. But when HARC submitted its most recent State of the Bay publication to the commission earlier this year, officials decided they couldn’t accept a report that said climate change is caused by human activity and is causing the sea level to rise. Top officials at the commission proceeded to edit the paper to censor its references to human-induced climate change or future projections on how much the bay will rise.
John Anderson, the oceanographer at Rice University who wrote the chapter, provided Mother Jones with a copy of the edited document, complete with tracked changes from top TCEQ officials. You can see the cuts—which include how much sea level rise has increased over the years, as well as the statement that this rise “is one of the main impacts of global climate change”—here and embedded at the end of this story. As the document shows, most of the tracked changes came from Katherine Nelson, the assistant director in the water quality planning division. Her boss, Kelly Holligan, is listed as a reviewer on the document as well.
Holligan and Nelson are top managers at Perry’s commission; lower-ranking staff at the agency had already approved the document, according to the publication’s editor. The changes came only after the two managers reviewed the issue. TCEQ’s commissioners, who are direct political appointees of the governor, select the top managers at TCEQ. Although the director and assistant director jobs aren’t technically political appointments, those hires are usually vetted by the governor’s office.
Anderson, whose complaints were first reported by the Houston Chronicle on Monday, says that the cuts to his paper were political and had nothing to do with science. The research underlying the study was peer-reviewed and is part of a decadelong study Anderson has conducted in partnership with other scientists. The Geological Society of America published the scientists’ results in 2008. “I was a bit astonished,” Anderson tells Mother Jones. “Really this paper is just a review of papers we published previously. There’s no denying the fact that sea level rise has significantly accelerated. The scientific community is not at all divided on that issue.”
TCEQ even deleted a reference to the fact that the bay is currently rising by 3 millimeters a year—five times faster than the long-term average. The edited version that TCEQ sent back also killed a line noting that the bay’s “future will be strongly regulated by the now rising sea,” as well as the factual assertion that the disappearance of the wetlands is “due mainly to direct human intervention.” The officials also cut out the statement that the water level rise “is one of the main impacts of global climate change.”
Anderson has refused to let TCEQ publish the heavily edited version of his work. “It would not have been a worthwhile paper,” he says. “It would not have said anything.”
Jim Lester, the co-editor of the State of the Bay and vice president of the Houston Advanced Research Center, notes that the scientists self-censored before submitting the paper to TCEQ, removing references to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (a favorite target of climate skeptics) and largely avoiding the question of whether humans were causing the climate to change. But that wasn’t enough to keep the paper out of the commission’s crosshairs. The report was supposed to be published in 2010, as the title of it suggests, but it has been delayed. Lester and his co-editor have also said they don’t want their names attached to something that is factually inaccurate. “It damages our scientific credibility,” Lester said.
It’s not surprising that people appointed by Perry, the climate deniers’ favorite climate denier, would excise references to climate change from a scientific paper. But the commission’s response to the Chronicle‘s request for a comment was pretty classic:
TCEQ spokeswoman Andrea Morrow gave no reason for the deletions in an e-mail response, saying only that the agency disagreed with information in the article. “It would be irresponsible to take whatever is sent to us and publish it,” she said.
The commission’s edit is reminiscent of efforts by the George W. Bush administration to suppress climate science. Top political appointees at the White House edited documents to downplay link between greenhouse gas emissions and global warming and to make the science sound more uncertain. In another instance, the Bush administration edited the congressional testimony of the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to remove references to public health concerns tied to climate change.
Anderson says his chapter and the entire publication were written to provide accurate, useful information to Texas state policymakers. He pointed to neighboring Louisiana, where coastal erosion has reached a crisis point and decision makers are struggling to deal with it.
“Sea level doesn’t just go up in Louisiana. We’re the next in line,” he says. “We are in fact starting to see many of the changes that Louisiana was seeing 20 years ago, yet we still have a state government that refuses to accept this is happening.”
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– Officials appointed by Rick Perry have sparked a new firestorm in Texas over climate change science, the Guardian reports. Every scientist behind a recent 200-page environmental report is demanding to have his name stricken from the document after state officials deleted references to climate change. "This is simply antithetical to what a scientist does," says one. "We can't be censored." The authors even avoided mentioning the human causes behind climate change, knowing that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality chief dismisses global warming science. Yet officials still deleted references to sea-level rise, wetlands destruction, and climate change. The agency defended the changes, which happen to be consistent with Perry's rhetoric on the campaign trail. "Information was included in a report that we disagree with," says a spokeswoman. Mother Jones has tracked the changes in the document. (Click through to see President Obama's dig against Perry's stance on climate change.)
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There is rare consensus among inmate advocates and correction officials that the surest way to fix the Rikers Island jail complex is to empty it.
While Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York is not prepared to go that far, he and the state’s chief judge will introduce a plan on Tuesday to gradually reduce the inmate population at Rikers by clearing the backlogs at state courts, a pocket of persistent government dysfunction that has long frustrated improvement efforts. Such backlogs can keep people locked away for hundreds of days while they await trial.
As of late March, over 400 people had been locked up for more than two years without being convicted of a crime, according to city data that is to be released publicly for the first time. And there are currently a half-dozen people at Rikers who have been waiting on pending cases for more than six years.
“Too many people have been detained at Rikers, sometimes for years, while they wait for trial,” Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat, said in a statement. “For the first time, our city will work with the courts, law enforcement, district attorneys and the defense bar to immediately tackle case delays head-on and significantly reduce the average daily population on Rikers Island.” ||||| "I think what caused the suicide was his incarceration and those hundreds and hundreds of nights in solitary confinement, where there were mice crawling up his sheets in that little cell," Prestia said in a phone interview Sunday evening. "Being starved, and not being taken to the shower for two weeks at a time … those were direct contributing factors.… That was the pain and sadness that he had to deal with every day, and I think it was too much for him." ||||| In May, 2010, Kalief Browder, a sixteen-year-old high-school sophomore, was arrested in the Bronx for allegedly stealing a backpack. He insisted that he was innocent, but he was taken to Rikers Island, New York City’s four-hundred-acre jail complex. Browder spent the next three years at Rikers, awaiting trial while his case was repeatedly delayed by the courts. In May, 2013, the case against him was dismissed. (Last fall, I wrote about Browder for the magazine.) This week, The New Yorker obtained two surveillance-camera video clips that depict the dual horrors of Browder’s years in jail: abuse by a guard and by fellow-inmates.
September 23, 2012: Inside the Bing
Browder spent a total of about two years in solitary confinement, including nine months leading up to the incident shown in the video above, which took place inside Rikers's Central Punitive Segregation Unit, better known as the Bing. On this day, a guard came to Browder’s cell door to escort him to the showers. As the footage shows, Browder put his hands through a slot in the door to be cuffed. The guard opened the door and began leading him down the tier. In the video, Browder appears to speak to the guard, who then threw him to the ground.
Browder recently saw this footage for the first time. “I just felt him tighten a grip around my arm,” he recalled, referring to the guard. “In my head, I was wondering why he tightened it so tight, like he never usually does, and that’s when he swung me and kept trying to slam me.” Browder says that, when a captain arrived, the guard explained that Browder had tried to run. “I was on the floor going crazy: ‘He’s lying! I didn’t do nothing!’ ”
Browder said that he was punished for this incident with extra days in solitary confinement. Usually, an inmate is taken to an administrative hearing before he is given extra time in solitary. “If I would’ve went to Bing court," he said, "I would’ve told them to look at the camera, and they would’ve seen I didn’t do anything. After that happened, to be honest, I was scared to come out of my cell to get in the shower again, because I felt, if I come out of my cell and he slams me again, then I’m going to get more box days.”
A Department of Correction “injury to inmate” report says that Browder was “involved in a use of force” with “D.O.C. staff” that day, and that he suffered a facial contusion. A report from Browder’s subsequent visit to a medical clinic gives two explanations for the contusion: one is an “alleged attack by staff” and the other is “hitting his face into the shower wall,” which Browder says did not happen. When told that a guard had slammed Browder to the floor, a D.O.C. spokesperson sent a written statement: “DOC takes such allegations seriously, and we are looking into this claim, which occurred prior to Commissioner [Joseph] Ponte’s arrival at the department.”
October 20, 2010: At the jail for teen-age boys
Last year, the office of Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District, released a report denouncing the horrific conditions in the adolescent jail on Rikers, describing it as a place that “seems more inspired by Lord of the Flies than any legitimate philosophy of humane detention.” Browder experienced this firsthand during the many months he was held there.
In the fall of 2010, Browder, who was seventeen years old at the time, found himself assigned to a housing unit that was ruled by a gang. He was not a member of the gang, and on October 20, 2010, he recalls, a gang leader spit in his face. He decided that he needed to retaliate. If he had not, he said, it would have “meant they could keep spitting in my face. I wasn’t going to have that.”
That night, at 10:55 P.M., shortly before the guards were about to lock the inmates in their cells, Browder punched the teen-ager who had spit at him. Four surveillance cameras recorded this incident and its aftermath: a drawn-out beatdown of Browder by about ten other teen-age inmates. The Department of Correction’s official paperwork characterizes this incident as “a multiple inmate fight.” ||||| In the early hours of Saturday, May 15, 2010, ten days before his seventeenth birthday, Kalief Browder and a friend were returning home from a party in the Belmont section of the Bronx. They walked along Arthur Avenue, the main street of Little Italy, past bakeries and cafés with their metal shutters pulled down for the night. As they passed East 186th Street, Browder saw a police car driving toward them. More squad cars arrived, and soon Browder and his friend found themselves squinting in the glare of a police spotlight. An officer said that a man had just reported that they had robbed him. “I didn’t rob anybody,” Browder replied. “You can check my pockets.” The officers searched him and his friend but found nothing. As Browder recalls, one of the officers walked back to his car, where the alleged victim was, and returned with a new story: the man said that they had robbed him not that night but two weeks earlier. The police handcuffed the teens and pressed them into the back of a squad car. “What am I being charged for?” Browder asked. “I didn’t do anything!” He remembers an officer telling them, “We’re just going to take you to the precinct. Most likely you can go home.” Browder whispered to his friend, “Are you sure you didn’t do anything?” His friend insisted that he hadn’t. At the Forty-eighth Precinct, the pair were fingerprinted and locked in a holding cell. A few hours later, when an officer opened the door, Browder jumped up: “I can leave now?” Instead, the teens were taken to Central Booking at the Bronx County Criminal Court. Browder had already had a few run-ins with the police, including an incident eight months earlier, when an officer reported seeing him take a delivery truck for a joyride and crash into a parked car. Browder was charged with grand larceny. He told me that his friends drove the truck and that he had only watched, but he figured that he had no defense, and so he pleaded guilty. The judge gave him probation and “youthful offender” status, which insured that he wouldn’t have a criminal record. Late on Saturday, seventeen hours after the police picked Browder up, an officer and a prosecutor interrogated him, and he again maintained his innocence. The next day, he was led into a courtroom, where he learned that he had been charged with robbery, grand larceny, and assault. The judge released his friend, permitting him to remain free while the case moved through the courts. But, because Browder was still on probation, the judge ordered him to be held and set bail at three thousand dollars. The amount was out of reach for his family, and soon Browder found himself aboard a Department of Correction bus. He fought back panic, he told me later. Staring through the grating on the bus window, he watched the Bronx disappear. Soon, there was water on either side as the bus made its way across a long, narrow bridge to Rikers Island. Of the eight million people living in New York City, some eleven thousand are confined in the city’s jails on any given day, most of them on Rikers, a four-hundred-acre island in the East River, between Queens and the Bronx. New Yorkers who have never visited often think of Rikers as a single, terrifying building, but the island has ten jails—eight for men, one for women, and one so decrepit that it hasn’t housed anyone since 2000. Male adolescents are confined in the Robert N. Davoren Center—known as R.N.D.C. When Browder arrived, the jail held some six hundred boys, aged sixteen to eighteen. Conditions there are notoriously grim. In August of this year, a report by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York described R.N.D.C. as a place with a “deep-seated culture of violence,” where attacks by officers and among inmates are rampant. The report featured a list of inmate injuries: “broken jaws, broken orbital bones, broken noses, long bone fractures, and lacerations requiring stitches.” Browder’s family could not afford to hire an attorney, so the judge appointed a lawyer named Brendan O’Meara to represent him. Browder told O’Meara that he was innocent and assumed that his case would conclude quickly. Even the assistant district attorney handling the prosecution later acknowledged in court papers that it was a “relatively straightforward case.” There weren’t hours of wiretaps or piles of complicated evidence to sift through; there was just the memory of one alleged victim. But Browder had entered the legal system through the Bronx criminal courts, which are chronically overwhelmed. Last year, the Times, in an extended exposé, described them as “crippled” and among the most backlogged in the country. One reason is budgetary. There are not nearly enough judges and court staff to handle the workload; in 2010, Browder’s case was one of five thousand six hundred and ninety-five felonies that the Bronx District Attorney’s office prosecuted. The problem is compounded by defense attorneys who drag out cases to improve their odds of winning, judges who permit endless adjournments, prosecutors who are perpetually unprepared. Although the Sixth Amendment guarantees “the right to a speedy and public trial,” in the Bronx the concept of speedy justice barely exists.
For as long as Browder could remember, he had lived in the same place, a two-story brick house near the Bronx Zoo. He was the youngest of seven siblings; except for the oldest two, all the children were adopted, and the mother fostered other children as well. “Kalief was the last brought into the family,” an older brother told me. “By the time it came to Kalief, my mom had already raised—in foster care or adoption—a total of thirty-four kids.” Kalief was the smallest, he recalled, “so my mom called him Peanut.” As a child, Browder loved Pokemon, the W.W.E., free Wednesdays at the Bronx Zoo, and mimicking his brother’s workout routine. “At six years old, he had an eight-pack,” his brother said. When Browder was ten, their father, who worked as a subway cleaner, moved out, though he continued to help support the family. For high school, Browder went to the small, progressive New Day Academy. A former staff member remembered him as a “fun guy,” the type of kid others wanted to be around. Occasionally, he would grab a hall pass, sneak into a friend’s classroom, and stay until the teacher caught on. He told me that his report cards were full of C’s, but the staff member I spoke to said, “I thought he was very smart.” Inside R.N.D.C., Browder soon realized that he was not going to make many friends. He was assigned to a dorm where about fifty teen-age boys slept in an open room, each with a plastic bucket to store his possessions in. “Their conversations bored me,” he told me. As far as he could tell, the other inmates were interested only in “crimes they committed and girls that they did.” When Browder asked a guard how inmates were supposed to get their clothes cleaned, he was told that they had to wash them themselves. He thought this was a joke until he noticed other inmates scrubbing their clothes by hand, using their bucket and jailhouse soap. After he did the same and hung his wet clothes on the rail of his bed, he wound up with brown rust stains on his white T-shirt, his socks, and his boxers. That day, he told himself, “I don’t know how I’m going to live in this place.” Browder’s mother visited every weekend. In the visiting room, he would hand her his dirty clothes and get a stack of freshly laundered clothes in return. She also put money in a jail commissary account for him, so he could buy snacks. He knew that such privileges made him a target for his fellow-prisoners, who would take any opportunity to empty someone else’s bucket of snacks and clothes, so he slept with his head off the side of his bed, atop his bucket. To survive inside R.N.D.C., he decided that the best strategy was to keep to himself and to work out. Before Rikers, he told me, “every here and there I did a couple pullups or pushups. When I went in there, that’s when I decided I wanted to get big.” The dayroom was ruled over by a gang leader and his friends, who controlled inmates’ access to the prison phones and dictated who could sit on a bench to watch TV and who had to sit on the floor. “A lot of times, I’d say, ‘I’m not sitting on the floor,’ ” Browder said. “And then they’ll come with five or six dudes. They’d swing on me. I’d have to fight back.” There was no escape, no protection, and a suspicion that some of the guards had an agreement with the gang members. Browder told me that, one night soon after he arrived, a group of guards lined him and several other inmates up against a wall, trying to figure out who had been responsible for an earlier fight. “They’re talking to us about why did we jump these guys,” he said. “And as they’re talking they’re punching us one by one.” Browder said that he had nothing to do with the fight, but still the officers beat him; the other inmates endured much worse. “Their noses were leaking, their faces were bloody, their eyes were swollen,” he said. Afterward, the officers gave the teens a choice: go to the medical clinic or go back to bed. But they made it clear that, if the inmates went to the clinic and told the medical staff what had happened, they would write up charges against them, and get them sent to solitary confinement. “I just told them I’ll act like nothing happened,” Browder said. “So they didn’t send us to the clinic; they didn’t write anything up; they just sent us back.” The Department of Correction refused to respond to these allegations, or to answer any questions about Browder’s stay on Rikers. But the recent U.S. Attorney’s report about R.N.D.C. recounts many instances in which officers pressured inmates not to report beatings—to “hold it down,” in Rikers parlance.
On the morning of July 28, 2010, Browder was awakened at around half past four. He was handcuffed to another inmate and herded onto a bus with a group of other prisoners. At the Bronx County Hall of Justice, they spent the day in a basement holding pen, each waiting for his chance to see a judge. When Browder’s turn came, an officer led him into a courtroom and he caught a glimpse of his mother in the spectator area. Seventy-four days had passed since his arrest. Already he had missed his seventeenth birthday, the end of his sophomore year, and half the summer. A grand jury had voted to indict Browder. The criminal complaint alleged that he and his friend had robbed a Mexican immigrant named Roberto Bautista—pursuing him, pushing him against a fence, and taking his backpack. Bautista told the police that his backpack contained a credit card, a debit card, a digital camera, an iPod Touch, and seven hundred dollars. Browder was also accused of punching Bautista in the face. A clerk read out the charges—“Robbery in the second degree and other crimes”—and asked Browder, “How do you plead, sir, guilty or not guilty?” “Not guilty,” Browder said. An officer escorted him out of the courtroom and back downstairs to return to Rikers. It no longer mattered whether his mother could find the money to bail him out. The Department of Probation had filed a “violation of probation” against him—standard procedure when someone on probation is indicted on a new violent felony—and the judge had remanded him without bail. Browder repeatedly told O’Meara, his court-appointed lawyer, that he would never plead guilty and that he wanted to go to trial. O’Meara assumed that his courtroom defense would be “Listen, they got the wrong kid.” After all, the accusation had been made a week or two after the alleged robbery, and the victim had later changed his mind about when it occurred. (The original police report said “on or about May 2,” but Bautista later told a detective that it happened on May 8th.) With each day he spent in jail, Browder imagined that he was getting closer to trial. Many states have so-called speedy-trial laws, which require trials to start within a certain time frame. New York State’s version is slightly different, and is known as the “ready rule.” This rule stipulates that all felony cases (except homicides) must be ready for trial within six months of arraignment, or else the charges can be dismissed. In practice, however, this time limit is subject to technicalities. The clock stops for many reasons—for example, when defense attorneys submit motions before trial—so that the amount of time that is officially held to have elapsed can be wildly different from the amount of time that really has. In 2011, seventy-four per cent of felony cases in the Bronx were older than six months. In order for a trial to start, both the defense attorney and the prosecutor have to declare that they are ready; the court clerk then searches for a trial judge who is free and transfers the case, and jury selection can begin. Not long after Browder was indicted, an assistant district attorney sent the court a “Notice of Readiness,” stating that “the People are ready for trial.” The case was put on the calendar for possible trial on December 10th, but it did not start that day. On January 28, 2011, Browder’s two-hundred-and-fifty-eighth day in jail, he was brought back to the courthouse once again. This time, the prosecutor said, “The People are not ready. We are requesting one week.” The next court date set by the judge—March 9th—was not one week away but six. As it happened, Browder didn’t go to trial anytime that year. An index card in the court file explains: June 23, 2011: People not ready, request 1 week. August 24, 2011: People not ready, request 1 day. November 4, 2011: People not ready, prosecutor on trial, request 2 weeks. December 2, 2011: Prosecutor on trial, request January 3rd. The Bronx courts are so clogged that when a lawyer asks for a one-week adjournment the next court date usually doesn’t happen for six weeks or more. As long as a prosecutor has filed a Notice of Readiness, however, delays caused by court congestion don’t count toward the number of days that are officially held to have elapsed. Every time a prosecutor stood before a judge in Browder’s case, requested a one-week adjournment, and got six weeks instead, this counted as only one week against the six-month deadline. Meanwhile, Browder remained on Rikers, where six weeks still felt like six weeks—and often much longer. Like many defendants with court-appointed lawyers, Browder thought his attorney was not doing enough to help him. O’Meara, who works mostly in the Bronx and in Westchester County, never made the trip out to Rikers to see him, since a visit there can devour at least half a day. To avoid this trek, some lawyers set up video conferences at the Bronx courthouse with their clients who are in jail. O’Meara says he’s “pretty sure” he did this with Browder, but Browder says he never did. Court papers suggest a lawyer in a hurry: in the fall of 2010, O’Meara filed a notice with the court in which he mistakenly wrote that he would soon be making a motion on Browder’s case in “Westchester County Court,” instead of in the Bronx. New York City pays lawyers like O’Meara (known locally as “18-B attorneys”) seventy-five dollars an hour for a felony case, sixty dollars for a misdemeanor. O’Meara handles all types of cases, from misdemeanors to homicides. When I met him, earlier this year, he was eating a hamburger and drinking coffee at a diner in Brooklyn after an appearance at a courthouse there. He was about to take the subway back to the Bronx, and his briefcase was bulging with papers. He told me that Browder, compared with some of his other clients, “was quiet, respectful—he wasn’t rude.” He also noted that, as the months passed, his client looked “tougher and bigger.” Most of the time, however, Browder had no direct contact with O’Meara; the few times he tried to phone him, he couldn’t get through, so he was dependent on his mother to talk to O’Meara on his behalf. Every time Browder got the chance, he asked O’Meara the same question: “Can you get me out?” O’Meara says that he made multiple bail applications on his client’s behalf, but was unsuccessful because of the violation of probation. Meanwhile, other inmates advised Browder to tell his lawyer to file a speedy-trial motion—a motion to dismiss the case, because it hadn’t been brought to trial within six months. But, with so many one-week requests that had turned into six-week delays, Browder had yet to reach the six-month mark. For a defendant who is in jail, the more a case drags on the greater the pressure to give up and plead guilty. By early 2012, prosecutors had offered Browder a deal—three and a half years in prison in exchange for a guilty plea. He refused. “I want to go to trial,” he told O’Meara, even though he knew that if he lost he could get up to fifteen years in state prison. Stories circulate on Rikers about inmates who plead guilty to crimes they didn’t commit just to put an end to their ordeal, but Browder was determined to get his day in court. He had no idea how rare trials actually are. In 2011, in the Bronx, only a hundred and sixty-five felony cases went to trial; in three thousand nine hundred and ninety-one cases, the defendant pleaded guilty.
Not long after arriving on Rikers, Browder made his first trip to solitary confinement. It lasted about two weeks, he recalls, and followed a scuffle with another inmate. “He was throwing shoes at people—I told him to stop,” Browder said. “I actually took his sneaker and I threw it, and he got mad. He swung on me, and we started fighting.” Browder was placed in shackles and transferred by bus to the Central Punitive Segregation Unit, which everyone on Rikers calls the Bing. Housed in one of the island’s newer jails, the Bing has four hundred cells, each about twelve feet by seven. In recent years, the use of solitary confinement has spread in New York’s jails. Between 2007 and mid-2013, the total number of solitary-confinement beds on Rikers increased by more than sixty per cent, and a report last fall found that nearly twenty-seven per cent of the adolescent inmates were in solitary. “I think the department became severely addicted to solitary confinement,” Daniel Selling, who served as the executive director of mental health for New York City’s jails, told me in April; he had quit his job two weeks earlier. “It’s a way to control an environment that feels out of control—lock people in their cell,” he said. “Adolescents can’t handle it. Nobody could handle that.” (In March, Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed a new jails commissioner, Joseph Ponte, who promised to “end the culture of excessive solitary confinement.”) For Browder, this was the first of several trips to the Bing. As he soon discovered, a prisoner there doesn’t leave his cell except to go to rec, the shower, the visit room, the medical clinic, or court; whenever he does leave, he is handcuffed and strip-searched. To pass the time, Browder read magazines—XXL, Sports Illustrated, Hip Hop Weekly—and street novels handed on by other inmates; one was Sister Souljah’s “Midnight.” He’d always preferred video games, but he told me, “I feel like I broke myself into books through street novels.” He moved on to more demanding reading and said that his favorite book was Craig Unger’s “House of Bush, House of Saud.” “Maybe we need different types of clubs for different types of situations.” Summer is the worst time of year to be stuck in the Bing, since the cells lack air-conditioning. In the hope of feeling a breeze, Browder would sleep with the window open, only to be awakened at 5 a.m., when the cell filled with the roar of planes taking off from LaGuardia, one of whose runways is less than three hundred feet from Rikers. He would spend all day smelling his own sweat and counting the hours until his next shower. He thought about the places he would have been visiting if he were not spending the summer in jail: Mapes Pool, Coney Island, Six Flags. One day, when he called home to talk to his mother—he was allowed one six-minute call a day while in solitary—he could make out the familiar jingle of an ice-cream truck in the background. There hadn’t been much to do at R.N.D.C., but at least there was school—classrooms where the inmates were supposed to be taken every day, to study for a G.E.D. or a high-school diploma. The Bing had only “cell study”: a correction officer slid work sheets under the door in the morning, collected them a few days later, and, eventually, returned them with a teacher’s marks. Some inmates never bothered to fill in the work sheets, but Browder told himself, “I’m already in jail—I might as well keep trying to do something.” There were times, however, when nobody came by to collect the work sheets on the day he’d been told they were due. If Browder saw a captain walk by through the small window in his door, he would shout, “Where is the school correction officer to pick up the work?” Near the end of 2010, Browder returned to the Bing; he was there for about ten months, through the summer of 2011. He recalls that he got sent there initially after another fight. (Once an inmate is in solitary, further minor infractions can extend his stay.) When Browder first went to Rikers, his brother had advised him to get himself sent to solitary whenever he felt at risk from other inmates. “I told him, ‘When you get into a house and you don’t feel safe, do whatever you have to to get out,’ ” the brother said. “ ‘It’s better than coming home with a slice on your face.’ ” Even in solitary, however, violence was a threat. Verbal spats with officers could escalate. At one point, Browder said, “I had words with a correction officer, and he told me he wanted to fight. That was his way of handling it.” He’d already seen the officer challenge other inmates to fights in the shower, where there are no surveillance cameras. “So I agreed to it; I said, ‘I’ll fight you.’ ” The next day, the officer came to escort him to the shower, but before they even got there, he said, the officer knocked him down: “He put his forearm on my face, and my face was on the floor, and he just started punching me in the leg.” Browder isn’t the first inmate to make such an allegation; the U.S. Attorney’s report described similar incidents. Browder’s brother reconsidered his advice when he saw him in the Bing visiting area. For one thing, he says, Browder was losing weight. “Several times when I visited him, he said, ‘They’re not feeding me,’ ” the brother told me. “He definitely looked really skinny.” In solitary, food arrived through a slot in the cell door three times a day. For a growing teen-ager, the portions were never big enough, and in solitary Browder couldn’t supplement the rations with snacks bought at the commissary. He took to begging the officers for leftovers: “Can I get that bread?” Sometimes they would slip him an extra slice or two; often, they refused. Browder’s brother also noticed a growing tendency toward despair. When Browder talked about his case, he was “strong, adamant: ‘No, they can’t do this to me!’ ” But, when the conversation turned to life in jail, “it’s a totally different personality, which is depressed. He’s, like, ‘I don’t know how long I can take this.’ ” Browder got out of the Bing in the fall of 2011, but by the end of the year he was back—after yet another fight, he says. On the night of February 8, 2012—his six-hundred-and-thirty-fourth day on Rikers—he said to himself, “I can’t take it anymore. I give up.” That night, he tore his bedsheet into strips, tied them together to make a noose, attached it to the light fixture, and tried to hang himself. He was taken to the clinic, then returned to solitary. Browder told me that his sheets, magazines, and clothes were removed—everything except his white plastic bucket. On February 17th, he was shuttled to the courthouse once again, but this time he was not brought up from the court pen in time to hear his case called. (“I’ll waive his appearance for today’s purposes,” his lawyer told the judge.) For more than a year, he had heard various excuses about why his trial had to be delayed, among them that the prosecutor assigned to the case was on trial elsewhere, was on jury duty, or, as he once told the judge, had “conflicts in my schedule.” If Browder had been in the courtroom on this day, he would have heard a prosecutor offer a new excuse: “Your Honor, the assigned assistant is currently on vacation.” The prosecutor asked for a five-day adjournment; Browder’s lawyer requested March 16th, and the judge scheduled the next court date for then. The following night, in his solitary cell on Rikers, Browder shattered his plastic bucket by stomping on it, then picked up a piece, sharpened it, and began sawing his wrist. He was stopped after an officer saw him through the cell window and intervened.
Browder was still on Rikers Island in June of 2012, when his high-school classmates collected their diplomas, and in September, when some of them enrolled in college. In the fall, prosecutors offered him a new deal: if he pleaded guilty, he’d get two and a half years in prison, which meant that, with time served, he could go home soon. “Ninety-nine out of a hundred would take the offer that gets you out of jail,” O’Meara told me. “He just said, ‘Nah, I’m not taking it.’ He didn’t flinch. Never talked about it. He was not taking a plea.” Meanwhile, Browder kept travelling from Rikers to the Bronx courthouse and back again, shuttling between two of New York City’s most dysfunctional bureaucracies, each system exacerbating the flaws of the other. With every trip Browder made to the courthouse, another line was added to a growing stack of index cards kept in the court file: June 29, 2012: People not ready, request one week. September 28, 2012: People not ready, request two weeks. November 2, 2012: People not ready, request one week. December 14, 2012: People not ready, request one week. By the end of 2012, Browder had been in jail for nine hundred and sixty-one days and had stood before eight different judges. He always maintained his composure, never berating his attorney or yelling protests in court. O’Meara was impressed by his control. “I can’t imagine most people sitting in there for three years and not becoming very upset with their attorney,” he says. “He just never complained to me.” Privately, though, Browder was angry. About the prosecutors, he would tell himself, “These guys are just playing with my case.” On March 13, 2013, Browder appeared before a new judge, Patricia M. DiMango, who had been transferred from Brooklyn as part of a larger effort to tackle the Bronx’s backlog. She was known for her no-nonsense style when dealing with defendants; at the Brooklyn courthouse, she was referred to as Judge Judy. (As it happens, this year she became a judge on “Hot Bench,” a new courtroom TV show created by Judge Judy.) In the Bronx, DiMango’s job was to review cases and clear them: by getting weak cases dismissed, extracting guilty pleas from defendants, or referring cases to trial in another courtroom. At the start of 2013, there were nine hundred and fifty-two felony cases in the Bronx, including Browder’s, that were more than two years old. In the next twelve months, DiMango disposed of a thousand cases, some as old as five years. Judge DiMango explained to Browder, “If you go to trial and lose, you could get up to fifteen.” Then she offered him an even more tempting deal: plead guilty to two misdemeanors—the equivalent of sixteen months in jail—and go home now, on the time already served. “If you want that, I will do that today,” DiMango said. “I could sentence you today. . . . It’s up to you.” “I’m all right,” Browder said. “I did not do it. I’m all right.” “You are all right?” DiMango said. “Yes,” he said. “I want to go to trial.” Back at Rikers, other prisoners were stunned. “You’re bugging,” they told him. “You’re stupid. If that was me, I would’ve said I did it and went home.” Browder knew that it was a gamble; even though he was innocent, he could lose at trial. “I used to go to my cell and lie down and think, like, Maybe I am crazy; maybe I am going too far,” he recalled. “But I just did what I thought was right.” On May 29th, the thirty-first court date on Browder’s case, there was another development. DiMango peered down from the bench. “The District Attorney is really in a position right now where they cannot proceed,” she said. “It is their intention to dismiss the case.” She explained that this could not officially happen until the next court date, which ended up being a week later. “I will release you today, but you have to come back here on time without any new cases,” she said. “Do you think you can do that, Mr. Browder?” “Yes,” he said. Browder could not believe what was happening. His battle to prove his innocence had ended. No trial, no jury, no verdict. An assistant district attorney filed a memo with the court explaining that Bautista, the man who had accused Browder, had gone back to Mexico. The District Attorney’s office had reached his brother in the Bronx and tried to arrange for him to return and testify, but then the office lost contact with the brother, too. “Without the Complainant, we are unable to meet our burden of proof at trial,” the prosecutor wrote. Browder had to spend one more night on Rikers. By now, he had missed his junior year of high school, his senior year, graduation, the prom. He was no longer a teen-ager; four days earlier, he had turned twenty. He didn’t know what time he would be released, so he told his mother not to bother picking him up. The next afternoon, he walked out of jail, a single thought in his mind: “I’m going home!” He took the bus to Queens Plaza, then two subways to the Bronx, and his euphoria began to dissipate. Being around so many people felt strange. Except for a few weeks, he had been in solitary confinement for the previous seventeen months.
After leaving Rikers, Browder moved back home, where his mother and two of his brothers were living. Everybody could see that he had changed. Most of the clothes in his bedroom no longer fit; he had grown an inch or two while he was away and had become brawnier. Many of his former pastimes—playing video games, watching movies, shooting hoops in the park—no longer engaged him. He preferred to spend time by himself, alone in his bedroom, with the door closed. Sometimes he found himself pacing, as he had done in solitary. When he saw old friends, he was reminded of their accomplishments and what he had not achieved: no high-school diploma, no job, no money, no apartment of his own. Before he went to jail, he used to like sitting on his front steps with his friends, and when a group of attractive girls walked by he’d call out, “Hi. What are you doing? Where’s the party at? Can I go with you?” Now, if he managed to get a girl’s number, the first real conversation would always go the same way: she would ask him if he was in school or working, and he would feel his anxiety rise. Once he revealed that he was still living at home, without a job or a diploma, “they look at me like I ain’t worth nothing. Like I ain’t shit. It hurts to have people look at you like that.” He could explain that he’d been wrongfully arrested, but the truth felt too complicated, too raw and personal. “If I tell them the story, then I gotta hear a hundred questions,” he said. “It gets emotional for me. And those emotions I don’t feel comfortable with.” Not long after Browder returned home, one of his relatives called an attorney named Paul V. Prestia and told him that Browder had spent three years on Rikers only to have his case dismissed. “Send him down,” Prestia said. A former prosecutor in Brooklyn, Prestia now has his own firm. On his office wall hangs a 2011 Post story about a Haitian chef from the Bronx who was mistakenly arrested for rape and spent eight days on Rikers; Prestia got the case dismissed. When Prestia first heard Browder’s story, he thought there must be a catch; even by the sorry standards of justice in the Bronx, the case was extreme. “It’s something that could’ve been tried in a court in a matter of days,” he told me. “I don’t know how each and every prosecutor who looked at this case continued to let this happen. It’s like Kalief Browder didn’t even exist.” Earlier this year, Prestia filed a suit on Browder’s behalf against the city, the N.Y.P.D., the Bronx District Attorney, and the Department of Correction. Robert T. Johnson, the Bronx District Attorney, will not answer questions about Browder’s case, because, once the charges were dismissed, the court records were sealed. But recently when I asked him a general question about cases that drag on and on, he was quick to deflect blame. “These long delays—two, three years—they’re horrendous, but the D.A. is not really accountable for that kind of delay,” he said. His explanation was that either the case did not actually exceed the six-month speedy-trial deadline or the defense attorney failed to bring a speedy-trial motion. Prestia, in his lawsuit, alleges “malicious prosecution,” charging that Johnson’s prosecutors were “representing to the court that they would be ‘ready’ for trial, when in fact, they never were.” Prestia said, “The million-dollar question is: When did they really know they didn’t have a witness? Did they really not know until 2013?” He suspects that, as he wrote in his complaint, they were “seeking long, undue adjournments of these cases to procure a guilty plea from plaintiff.” The city has denied all allegations of wrongdoing, and Johnson, when I asked about these accusations, said, “Certainly if there is something uncovered that we did wrong, I will deal with that here. But I don’t expect that to be the case.” Prestia has represented many clients who were wrongfully arrested, but Browder’s story troubles him most deeply. “Kalief was deprived of his right to a fair and speedy trial, his education, and, I would even argue, his entire adolescence,” he says. “If you took a sixteen-year-old kid and locked him in a room for twenty-three hours, your son or daughter, you’d be arrested for endangering the welfare of a child.” Browder doesn’t know exactly how many days he was in solitary—and Rikers officials, citing pending litigation, won’t divulge any details about his stay—but he remembers that it was “about seven hundred, eight hundred.” One day last November, six months after his release, Browder retreated to his bedroom with a steak knife, intending to slit his wrists. A friend happened to stop by, saw the knife, and grabbed it. When he left the house to find Browder’s mother, Browder tried to hang himself from a bannister. An ambulance rushed him to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was admitted to the psychiatric ward. In his medical record, a social worker describes the suicide attempt as “serious.” ||||| Last fall, I wrote about a young man named Kalief Browder, who spent three years on Rikers Island without being convicted of a crime. He had been arrested in the spring of 2010, at age sixteen, for a robbery he insisted he had not committed. Then he spent more than one thousand days on Rikers waiting for a trial that never happened. During that time, he endured about two years in solitary confinement, where he attempted to end his life several times. Once, in February, 2012, he ripped his bedsheet into strips, tied them together to create a noose, and tried to hang himself from the light fixture in his cell. In November of 2013, six months after he left Rikers, Browder attempted suicide again. This time, he tried to hang himself at home, from a bannister, and he was taken to the psychiatric ward at St. Barnabas Hospital, not far from his home, in the Bronx. When I met him, in the spring of 2014, he appeared to be more stable. Then, late last year, about two months after my story about him appeared, he stopped going to classes at Bronx Community College. During the week of Christmas, he was confined in the psych ward at Harlem Hospital. One day after his release, he was hospitalized again, this time back at St. Barnabas. When I visited him there on January 9th, he did not seem like himself. He was gaunt, restless, and deeply paranoid. He had recently thrown out his brand-new television, he explained, “because it was watching me.” After two weeks at St. Barnabas, Browder was released and sent back home. The next day, his lawyer, Paul V. Prestia, got a call from an official at Bronx Community College. An anonymous donor (who had likely read the New Yorker story) had offered to pay his tuition for the semester. This happy news prompted Browder to reënroll. For the next few months he seemed to thrive. He rode his bicycle back and forth to school every day, he no longer got panic attacks sitting in a classroom, and he earned better grades than he had the prior semester.
Ever since I’d met him, Browder had been telling me stories about having been abused by officers and inmates on Rikers. The stories were disturbing, but I did not fully appreciate what he had experienced until this past April when I obtained surveillance footage of an officer assaulting him and of a large group of inmates pummeling and kicking him. I sat next to Kalief while he watched these videos for the first time. Afterward, we discussed whether they should be published on The New Yorker’s Web site. I told him that it was his decision. He said to put them online. He was driven by the same motive that led him to talk to me for the first time, a year earlier. He wanted the public to know what he had gone through, so that nobody else would have to endure the same ordeals. His willingness to tell his story publicly—and his ability to recount it with great insight—ultimately helped persuade Mayor Bill de Blasio to try to reform the city’s court system and end the sort of excessive delays that kept him in jail for so long. Browder’s story also caught the attention of Rand Paul, who began talking about him on the campaign trail. Jay Z met with Browder after watching the videos. Rosie O’Donnell invited him on “The View” last year and recently had him over for dinner. Browder could be a very private person, and he told almost nobody about meeting O’Donnell or Jay Z. However, in a picture taken of him with Jay Z, who draped an arm around his shoulders, Browder looked euphoric. Last Monday, Prestia, who had filed a lawsuit on Browder’s behalf against the city, noticed that Browder had put up a couple of odd posts on Facebook. When Prestia sent him a text message, asking what was going on, Browder insisted he was O.K. “Are you sure everything is cool?” Prestia wrote. Browder replied: “Yea I’m alright thanks man.” The two spoke on Wednesday, and Browder did seem fine. On Saturday afternoon, Prestia got a call from Browder’s mother: he had committed suicide.
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– A man arrested at 16 for allegedly stealing a backpack, then held at Rikers Island for three years—two of which he spent in solitary confinement—until his case was dismissed in 2013, committed suicide on Saturday. He was 22. Kalief Browder was starved and beaten by officers and inmates while in prison and attempted suicide several times, including after he left. His experience helped reform the municipal court system. "I'm mentally scarred right now," he told the New Yorker last year. "There are certain things that changed about me and they might not go back." He hanged himself out of a hole in an upstairs wall, meant to hold an air conditioner, in the home he shared with his parents. His mother heard a noise but found nothing upstairs. "It wasn't until she went outside to the backyard and looked up that she realized that her youngest child had hanged himself," reports the New Yorker. "Ma, I can't take it anymore," Browder had told her a day earlier. "Kalief, you've got a lot of people in your corner," she told him. Among them were Jay Z and Rosie O'Donnell, who once invited Browder to dinner and gave him a MacBook Air. "I think what caused the suicide was his incarceration and those hundreds and hundreds of nights in solitary confinement, where there were mice crawling up his sheets in that little cell," Browder’s lawyer, Paul Prestia, tells the Los Angeles Times. "Being starved, and not being taken to the shower for two weeks at a time ... those were direct contributing factors." Prestia, who had filed a lawsuit against New York City on Browder's behalf, says the case was nearing a settlement. "He didn't get tortured in some prison camp in another country," he adds. "It was right here!" As of March, some 400 people had spent at least two years in prison in the city without a conviction, the New York Times reports. Six at Rikers had been waiting at least six years on pending cases.
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This aerial photo taken Saturday, April 9, 2016, and provided by Arizona Department of Public Safety shows, a "help" sign made by Ann Rodgers, 72, in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona. Rodgers got... (Associated Press)
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A woman lost in an Arizona forest for nine days survived by drinking pond water, eating plants and spelling out "help" on the ground with sticks, authorities said Tuesday.
The sign helped lead rescuers to Ann Rodgers, 72, in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona earlier this month, the state Department of Public Safety said. Rodgers declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press.
However, Rodgers told a Tucson TV station on Tuesday that she had food and water in her car but ran out after several days and turned to survival mode.
"I was eating desert plants. My dog was too, diving into clovers and finding all the places that were the easiest to go," she told KOLD.
Rodgers went missing March 31 as she headed to visit her grandkids in Phoenix. She got lost, and her hybrid vehicle ran out of gas and electric power, authorities said. Her car was discovered three days after a search began, but rescue crews struggled to find her.
Authorities came across her dog April 9, and a department flight crew spotted a "help" signal made of sticks and rocks on the ground. Rodgers had left the area, but she was found nearby on the Fort Apache Reservation after starting a signal fire.
Rodgers said she was waving to the helicopter. When it landed to rescue her, she sat down and cried.
The Department of Public Safety said Rodgers was suffering from exposure, but she was in fair condition and able to walk to and board the helicopter with little assistance. She was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Payson for treatment and later released.
Rodgers is from Tucson and was on a hike Tuesday afternoon, the Department of Public Safety said. It was not clear how she ended up in the eastern part of the state because the drive from Tucson to Phoenix is a straight shot on Interstate 10, which does not run through the area where she was found.
Rodgers' rescue came after three men who spelled out "help" with palm fronds were saved from a remote Pacific island last week. They swam to a tiny Micronesian island when their boat capsized, and searchers spotted them two days later. ||||| Officials said Ann Charon Rodgers was suffering from exposure, but was in fair condition and able to walk to and board the helicopter with little assistance. (Source: Arizona Department of Public Safety)
A 72-year-old Tucson woman and her dog survived nine days in the wilderness of the White Mountains thanks to her quick thinking and survival skills.
Ann Charon Rodgers left Tucson on March 31 to travel to Phoenix to visit her grandchildren, Arizona Department of Public Safety said.
Rodgers became lost and ended up on a remote stretch of a back-country road near Canyon Creek on the White Mountain Apache Reservation, ran out of gas and depleted the charge in her hybrid vehicle.
The first night, she spent the night in the car with her dog and cat.
“I got up the next morning hoping something would pass by - anybody, anything, even a steer. I didn’t care, just anything alive,” she said.
With no signs of life around her, she ventured up a mountain, hoping to see signs of life, and to get a cell phone signal.
“I could see where there might be humanity, some power pole anything a ranch, I didn’t care. But [there was] nothing,” she said.
Rodgers said she is always prepared. She carries food water in her car, but after several days, she was out of resources and went into survival mode.
“I was eating desert plants. My dog was, too, diving into clovers and finding all the places that were the easiest to go," she said. "She was my pathfinder on that journey."
Rodgers said she could see planes and helicopters flying by and knew she had to get their attention.
“I found a elk carcass bleached white, dead for a long time, 12 point rack. I brought it on the sandy beach, pointed it to a sign [that] said ‘help’ made out of white stones and sticks,” Rodgers said.
On April 9, a tribal Game and Fish officer found Rodgers’ dog walking out of the Canyon Creek area.
An air crew spotted Rodgers' distress signal and found a hand-written note on a rock, indicating Rodgers had run out of food and water and was proceeding down the canyon.
The rescue team discovered a shelter abandoned by Rodgers and found her a little further down the canyon standing next to a signal fire and waving to the helicopter.
It was the sound she had been waiting for, the helicopter coming down to rescue her.
“When the rescue police helicopter landed I just sat down and bawled,” she said.
DPS said Rodgers was suffering from exposure, but was in fair condition and able to walk to and board the helicopter with little assistance. She was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Payson for treatment, but has been released.
Rescue crews have her cat, she said, and she'll be reunited with him on Friday.
Copyright 2016 Tucson News Now. All rights reserved. ||||| TUCSON, Ariz. -- A woman lost in an Arizona forest for nine days survived by drinking pond water, eating plants and spelling out "help" on the ground with sticks, authorities said Tuesday.
The sign helped lead rescuers to Ann Rodgers, 72, in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona earlier this month, the state Department of Public Safety said. Rodgers declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press.
CBS affiliate KOLD via Gila County Sheriff's Office
She went missing March 31 as she headed to visit her grandkids in Phoenix. Rodgers got lost and her hybrid vehicle ran out of gas and electric power, authorities say. Her car was discovered three days after a search began, but rescue crews struggled to find her.
Authorities came across her dog April 9, and a DPS flight crew spotted a "help" signal made of sticks and rocks on the ground. Rodgers had left the area, but she was found nearby in the White Mountain Apache Reservation after starting a signal fire.
CBS affiliate KOLD reported that an air crew spotted Rodgers' distress signal and found a hand-written note on a rock, indicating Rodgers had run out of food and water and was proceeding down the canyon.
The rescue team discovered a shelter abandoned by Rodgers and found her a little further down the canyon.
Arizona Department of Public Safety
She was rescued in fair condition and has been released from the hospital.
Rodgers has Tucson-region area code, but it's not clear where she lives or how she wound up in the eastern part of the state.
The drive from Tucson to Phoenix is a straight shot on Interstate 10, which doesn't run through the area where she was found.
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– Ann Rodgers may not have the greatest navigation skills in the world, but the 72-year-old appears to have amazing survival skills. Authorities say that after Rodgers somehow became lost while driving from Tucson to Phoenix to visit her grandchildren, her hybrid vehicle ran out of both gas and electric power and she was stranded in the remote White Mountains for nine days, CBS News reports. Rodgers and her dog survived by drinking creek water and eating berries and desert plants, authorities say. She was rescued, in fair condition despite suffering from exposure, after an air crew spotted a "HELP" sign she had made from sticks and stones. After the sign was spotted, rescuers found a note from Rodgers indicating she had moved down the canyon, and she was found next to a signal fire she had lit. She tells Tucson News Now that she spent the first night in her car, but after she ran low on water, she decided to move on in hopes of finding people or at least a cell phone signal. Survival instructor Cody Lundin tells the Arizona Republic that it is "very rare, statistically abnormal, and freakish" for Rodgers to have survived so long, and she would have had little hope in a colder season. The AP notes that Tucson to Phoenix is a straight shot on Interstate 10, so it's not clear how Rodgers became so lost. (A "HELP" sign also saved these castaways in the Pacific.)
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President Trump has recorded a robocall to support last-minute efforts to turn voters out for Alabama Senate Republican nominee Roy Moore.
The robocall is expected to go out to voters on Monday.
"We need Roy to help us with the Republican Senate," Trump said on the call, which was reported by ABC News.
Trump also described Moore's opponent, Democrat Doug Jones, as being "a puppet" for Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi - the Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill.
"We don't want him," Trump said of Jones.
The election is Tuesday.
Here is the full text of Trump's robocall:
"Hi, this is President Donald Trump and I need Alabama to go vote for Roy Moore. It is so important. We are already making America great again. I'm going to make America safer and stronger and better than ever before. But we need that seat. We need Roy voting for us. I'm stopping illegal immigration and crime. We're building a stronger military and protecting the Second Amendment and our pro-life values.
"But if Alabama elects liberal Democrat Doug Jones, all of our progress will be stopped cold. We already know Democrat Doug Jones is a puppet of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer and he will vote with Washington liberals every single time. Democrat Jones is soft on crime, weak on immigration, supports abortion. He's bad for our military and bad for our vets. We don't want him and he also, by the way, wants higher taxes.
"Roy Moore is the guy we need to pass our Make America Great Again agenda. Roy is a conservative who will help me steer this country back on track after eight years of the Obama disaster. Get out and vote for Roy Moore. His vote is our Republican Senate and it's needed. We need Roy to help us with the Republican Senate. We will win and we will make America great again. ||||| CULLMAN, Alabama — The race between Judge Roy Moore and former United States Attorney Doug Jones has already been among the least traditional in Senate history, thanks to multiple pedophilia allegations against Moore.
On Sunday, as the campaign reached the bell lap before Tuesday’s voting, things got even weirder: Roy Moore was nowhere to be found.
Tom Barnes, Cullman County campaign chair for Moore, says he can solve the mystery. “Roy is at the Army-Navy game [Saturday in Philadelphia] to see his son. So that’s where he was yesterday,” Barnes told VICE News Saturday in an interview at the makeshift Cullman County Moore headquarters. “Family comes before politics with Roy.”
Barnes is an old Moore friend and fellow West Point alumnus. He says he texts with Moore often and that the two are close, though Barnes was uncertain whether Moore watched the game from inside the stadium or at his hotel due to security concerns. Rich Hobson, Moore’s campaign manager, repeatedly declined to confirm Barnes’ story when reached by VICE News Saturday. When asked if he denied it, he said, “I have no comment.” ||||| MOBILE, Ala. — In the last weekend of Alabama’s wild special Senate election, Doug Jones barnstormed the state with A-list Democrats in a bid to turn out black voters he desperately needs to win in the deep-red state.
Republican Roy Moore disappeared.
Story Continued Below
Confronting accusations that he harassed or molested teenage girls, Moore hasn’t held a public event since Tuesday, a decision that has perplexed some Republicans given the closeness of the race. Two Republicans briefed on Moore’s schedule before this weekend said he intended to spend Saturday in Philadelphia at the Army-Navy football game — a long-planned trip that the West Point grad had insisted he would still take this year despite the election.
One of those Republicans, who expressed concern about Moore’s absence, said that the planned trip was discussed with Moore’s campaign within the last few weeks and the candidate determined to go — case closed.
Moore’s campaign declined repeated requests to discuss his whereabouts and refused to say whether he had in fact gone to Philadelphia. His absence has baffled local and out of town reporters, some of whom staked out Moore’s church on Sunday morning only to be informed that he wouldn’t be attending.
Vice News on Sunday quoted a Moore campaign county chairman who said that the candidate was indeed in Philadelphia to take in the football game with his son.
The mystery surrounding Moore’s disappearance added another layer of drama to a race that has been thrust into the spotlight amid a national upheaval surrounding sexual harassment. Once considered a shoo-in, Moore — damaged by allegations that he pursued teenagers when he was in his 30s — heads into Election Day with only a tenuous lead.
Senior Republicans, including some in the White House, said they were reviewing private polling showing Moore clinging to a low-single-digit lead. Other surveys, however, showed Moore with a more comfortable lead. Rick Shaftan, a GOP operative who is overseeing several pro-Moore outside groups, recently circulated to fellow Republicans poll results showing Moore up 8 percentage points.
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With Moore nowhere to be seen in the final stretch, Jones raced to fill the void. During an appearance in Birmingham on Sunday, the Democrat highlighted his opponent’s disappearance.
“What kind of senator hides from his constituents?” the Democrat told reporters.
Jones has focused on turning out African-Americans, who comprise a substantial portion of the Democratic base. He spent the weekend campaigning with Democratic Party headliners including New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
But Democrats are still concerned that not enough black voters will cast ballots.
“Some people don’t understand: the opposite of justice is not injustice. It is inaction and indifference,” Booker told a crowd of roughly 200 at Alabama State University in Montgomery on Saturday night, reminding the audience that he has family roots in the state. “Bad people get elected when good people don’t vote.”
During the final days of the race, Jones, looking to capitalize on a wave of funding from liberals eager to see Moore defeated, has been intensifying his outreach to African-Americans, particularly in Birmingham and Montgomery. One pro-Jones group, BlackPAC, has funneled over $200,000 to spur black voters to the polls in the last five days. In heavily black Selma, where Jones appeared with Patrick and Alabama Rep. Terri Sewell on Saturday, the streets are lined with yard signs declaring, “VOTE OR DIE.”
Yet Jones must walk a tightrope. To win, he also needs more middle-of-the-road voters who have been turned off by Moore. Jones’s campaign has flooded Republican areas with mailers highlighting the criticism Moore has faced from longtime Republican Sen. Richard Shelby, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and first daughter Ivanka Trump. Looking to win over anti-Moore moderates, Jones has also recorded radio ads in which he proclaims his independence from either party.
And on Sunday, the Jones campaign pushed out a pair of online ads highlighting a Shelby appearance on CNN earlier in the day in which he said he didn’t vote for Moore.
Moore’s path to victory, by comparison, is more straightforward. A four-decade veteran of the Alabama political scene, he must simply ensure that enough staunch conservatives head to the polls. Looking to activate the Republican base, Moore has sent out mailers highlighting his endorsement from President Donald Trump and portraying Jones as a steadfast ally of Hillary Clinton.
Some pro-Moore groups are taking an even more pointed approach to energize conservatives. One Moore-aligned group, Restore Our Godly Heritage PAC, is airing commercials on nearly 60 stations around the state accusing Jones of “trying to steal the election with vile, racist ads on black radio.”
“Desperate to steal this Senate race, Jones and his race-hustling allies are trying to start a race war and it’s only going to get worse in the final weekend, with millions of dollars in street money to turn out the vote,” it adds.
Moore’s advisers have also been trying to stoke doubt about the sexual assault allegations. On Friday, his campaign held a press conference in Montgomery to highlight revelations that one of his accusers, Beverly Young Nelson, had added an inscription to a high school yearbook that she said Moore had signed for her.
"Alabama is an overwhelmingly Republican state," said Blake Harris, an Alabama-based GOP strategist. "The question is whether the turmoil of the campaign keeps Republicans at home. That's the million-dollar question."
While Moore heads into Tuesday as the favorite, he isn’t an overwhelming one. According to media buying figures obtained by POLITICO, Moore, who has been deserted by most of the GOP donor class, has been outspent on the TV airwaves by a nearly six-to-one margin.
“My prediction is he will win by a few points, but the allegations took a toll,” said Scott Beason, a former Alabama state senator and radio talk show host who recently interviewed Moore.
Some senior Republicans said Moore had little to gain, and potentially a lot to lose, by hitting the campaign trail. He would only be barraged by questions from reporters about the alleged sexual improprieties, they reasoned.
Moore is expected to surface before voters go to the polls. On Monday evening, he's scheduled to attend at a “Drain the Swamp” rally, joined by former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.
Moore is also depending on President Donald Trump to make his case. The president has recorded a pro-Moore robo-call that's expected to be released on Monday.
The president has told those close to him that the race is close – and that he’s willing to do whatever is needed to pull the Alabama Republican over the finish line.
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– With pollsters predicting a close result in the Senate race Roy Moore calls a "spiritual battle," the candidate was nowhere to be seen during the final weekend of campaigning in Alabama. Tom Barnes, the Republican's campaign chairman in Cullman County, told Vice that Moore had traveled to Saturday's Army-Navy game in Philadelphia to see his son, who goes to West Point. "Family comes before politics with Roy," he said. Other campaign officials refused to discuss Moore's whereabouts, though Republican sources tell Politico that Moore insisted on taking the long-planned trip despite the election. "What kind of senator hides from his constituents?" asked Doug Jones, his Democratic rival. President Trump—who attacked the credibility of one of the women accusing Moore of sexual misconduct during a rally in Florida on Friday—has recorded a robocall for the candidate ahead of the Tuesday election, AL.com reports. In the call, which is expected to go out Monday, Trump attacks Jones as a "puppet of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer." "Roy Moore is the guy we need to pass our Make America Great Again agenda," Trump says. Moore is expected to resurface Monday with Steve Bannon at a "Drain the Swamp" rally. Jones, meanwhile, has been airing ads highlighting the fact that Republican Sen. Richard Shelby, the senior senator from Alabama, didn't vote for Moore.
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Image copyright Thinkstock
Processed meats - such as bacon, sausages and ham - do cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Its report said 50g of processed meat a day - less than two slices of bacon - increased the chance of developing colorectal cancer by 18%.
Meanwhile, it said red meats were "probably carcinogenic" but there was limited evidence.
The WHO did stress that meat also had health benefits.
Cancer Research UK said this was a reason to cut down rather than give up red and processed meats.
And added that an occasional bacon sandwich would do little harm.
What is processed meat?
Processed meat has been modified to either extend its shelf life or change the taste and the main methods are smoking, curing, or adding salt or preservatives.
Simply putting beef through a mincer does not mean the resulting mince is "processed" unless it is modified further.
Processed meat includes bacon, sausages, hot dogs, salami, corned beef, beef jerky and ham as well as canned meat and meat-based sauces.
It is the chemicals involved in the processing which could be increasing the risk of cancer. High temperature cooking, such as on a barbeque, can also create carcinogenic chemicals.
In the UK, around six out of every 100 people get bowel cancer at some point in their lives.
If they were all given an extra 50g of bacon a day for the rest of their lives then the risk would increase by 18% to around seven in 100 people getting bowel cancer.
"So that's one extra case of bowel cancer in all those 100 lifetime bacon-eaters," argued Sir David Spiegelhalter, a risk professor from the University of Cambridge.
How bad?
The WHO has come to the conclusion on the advice of its International Agency for Research on Cancer, which assesses the best available scientific evidence.
It has now placed processed meat in the same category as plutonium, but also alcohol as they definitely do cause cancer.
However, this does not mean they are equally dangerous. A bacon sandwich is not as bad as smoking.
"For an individual, the risk of developing colorectal (bowel) cancer because of their consumption of processed meat remains small, but this risk increases with the amount of meat consumed," Dr Kurt Straif from the WHO said.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Is processed meat going to kill me?
Estimates suggest 34,000 deaths from cancer every year could be down to diets high in processed meat.
Red meat risk In context 21% of bowel cancers are caused by processed or red meat 86% of lung cancers are caused by tobacco 19% of all cancers caused by tobacco compared to
3% of all cancers ascribed to red or processed meat PA
That is in contrast to one million deaths from cancer caused by smoking and 600,000 attributed to alcohol each year.
Red meat does have nutritional value too and is a major source of iron, zinc and vitamin B12.
However, the WHO said there was limited evidence that 100g of red meat a day increased the risk of cancer by 17%.
An eight ounce steak is 225g.
Image copyright Thinkstock
The WHO said its findings were important for helping countries give balanced dietary advice.
Little harm
Prof Tim Key, from the Cancer Research UK and the University of Oxford, said: "This decision doesn't mean you need to stop eating any red and processed meat, but if you eat lots of it you may want to think about cutting down.
"Eating a bacon bap every once in a while isn't going to do much harm - having a healthy diet is all about moderation."
Dr Teresa Norat, one of the advisors to the WHO report and from Imperial College London, said there were many factors causing bowel cancer.
She told BBC News website: "People should limit consumption of red meat and avoid consuming processed meat, but they should also have a diet rich in fibre, from fruit and vegetables and maintain an adequate body weight throughout life and limit the consumption of alcohol and be physically active."
The industry body the Meat Advisory Panel said "avoiding red meat in the diet is not a protective strategy against cancer" and said the focus should be alcohol, smoking and body weight. ||||| WHO expected to highlight dangers of bacon, sausages, ham and burgers – and even fresh red meat is to be listed as unhealthy
The World Health Organisation is expected to issue new guidelines warning that processed meat products such as bacon and sausages are a cancer risk on the scale of smoking and asbestos.
Reports have claimed the UN’s health body will highlight the dangers of eating processed meats by putting bacon, burgers, ham and sausages on its list of cancer-causing substances.
Even fresh red meat is expected to be listed on Monday as unhealthy. According to the latest survey of the British diet, the average adult eats around 71g of red meat a day.
What’s so bad about ‘processed food’? Read more
The warning on the “carcinogenicity of red and processed meats” is expected to come in a WHO and International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) evaluation published in the Lancet. The WHO has not denied the reports, but has said there was no leak of the findings.
The guidelines would bring the UN’s position in line with the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), which says there is convincing evidence that processed meat can cause bowel cancer.
But Dr Jill Jenkins, a GP and member of the Meat Advisory Panel, an industry sponsored body, said she would not be advising her patients to stop eating meat, but she did recommend caution over highly processed meat products.
“I think certainly that we should be keeping a low level, so everything in moderation,” she told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4.
“From the same body we have had advice about the carcinogenic effects of the air we breathe and the sun on our skin, so I think we have to take it within reason in that if you are stuffing in burgers and sausages and bacon every day, yes you are at risk.
“If you have some healthy, locally made high-protein sausage once a fortnight, well, I personally don’t consider that a risk.”
The Daily Mail, which reported on the WHO shift, said it had received the information from a “well-placed source”. In a note to the media, however, the WHO said: “Following random reports [on] Friday 23 October in the British press postulating on the outcome of the IARC evaluation on the carcinogenicity of red meat and processed meat, please note that there was no breach of embargo, as no embargoed material was shared with any news outlet, in Britain or elsewhere.” ||||| A new World Health Organization study found that processed meat like bacon and hot dogs cause cancer. It is the most prominent group to declare it a cause of the disease, and the U.S. beef industry isn't happy about it. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)
A research division of the World Health Organization announced Monday that bacon, sausage and other processed meats cause cancer and that red meat probably does, too.
The report by the influential group stakes out one of the most aggressive stances against meat taken by a major health organization, and it is expected to face stiff criticism in the United States.
The WHO findings were drafted by a panel of 22 international experts who reviewed decades of research on the link between red meat, processed meats and cancer. The panel reviewed animal experiments, studies of human diet and health, and cell processes that could explain how red meat might cause cancer.
But the panel’s decision was not unanimous, and by raising lethal concerns about a food that anchors countless American meals, it will be controversial.
The $95 billion U.S. beef industry has been preparing for months to mount a response, and some scientists, including some unaffiliated with the meat industry, have questioned whether the evidence is substantial enough to draw the strong conclusions that the WHO panel did.
In reaching its conclusion, the panel sought to quantify the risks, and compared to carcinogens such as cigarettes, the magnitude of the danger appears small, experts said. The WHO panel cited studies suggesting that an additional 3.5 ounces of red meat everyday raises the risk of colorectal cancer by 17 percent; eating an additional 1.8 ounces of processed meat daily raises the risk by 18 percent, according to the research cited.
“For an individual, the risk of developing colorectal cancer because of their consumption of processed meat remains small, but this risk increases with the amount of meat consumed,” says Kurt Straif, an official with the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, which produced the report. “In view of the large number of people who consume processed meat, the global impact on cancer incidence is of public health importance.”
About 34,000 cancer deaths a year worldwide are attributable to diets high in processed meats, according to figures cited by the panel.
[WHO says hot dogs, bacon cause cancer. Does this mean we should all become vegetarians?]
The research into a possible link between eating red meat and cancer has been the subject of scientific debate for decades, with colorectal cancer being a long-standing area of concern. But by concluding that processed meat causes cancer, and that red meat “probably” causes cancer, the WHO findings go well beyond the tentative associations that some other groups have reported.
The American Cancer Society, for example, notes that many studies have found “a link” between eating red meat and heightened risks of colorectal cancer. But it stops short of telling people that the meats cause cancer. Some diets that have lots of vegetables and fruits and lesser amounts of red and processed meats have been associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer, the American Cancer Society says, but “it’s not exactly clear” which factors of that diet are important.
Likewise, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the U.S. government’s advice compendium, encourage the consumption of protein-containing foods such as lean meats as part of a healthy diet. Regarding processed meats, though, the Dietary Guidelines offer a tentative warning: “Moderate evidence suggests an association between the increased intake of processed meats (e.g., franks, sausage, and bacon) and increased risk of colorectal cancer and cardiovascular disease.” The Dietary Guidelines do not assert that processed meats cause cancer.
Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, which is updating the Dietary Guidelines with the USDA, have not yet reviewed the WHO report, a spokesperson said.
[95 percent of the world's people may be wrong about salt]
For consumers, the WHO announcement offers scant practical advice even while casting aspersions over a wide array of foods. Red meat includes beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton and goat. Processed meat includes hot dogs, ham, sausages, corned beef and beef jerky — or any other meat that has been cured, smoked, salted or otherwise changed to enhance flavor or improve preservation.
How much of those is it safe to eat? The group doesn’t offer much guidance: “The data available for evaluation did not permit a conclusion about whether a safe level exists.”
Should we be vegetarians? Again, the group does not hazard an answer.
And how exactly does red meat and processed meat cause cancer? The group names a handful of chemicals involved in cooking and processing meat, most of them nearly unpronounceable, and some believed to be carcinogenic.
“But despite the knowledge it is not yet fully understood how cancer risk is increased by red meat or processed meat,” the group wrote.
Despite the voids in the science, the WHO findings might cast a pall over diners and those who serve them.
At The Pig Restaurant on 14th Street NW in Washington, where the menu includes an array of pork products - kielbasa, prosciutto, pork cheek, etc - a worker sweeping the tables outside encouraged a reporter to look elsewhere for comments about cancer and red meat. Around the corner, outside the Whole Foods grocery, shoppers evinced a weary of fatalism regarding authoritative diet advice.
“It makes some sense,” said Nassrin Farzaneh, a development consultant, carrying a bag out of the store, said of the WHO finding on processed meat. “But they say one thing and then two or three years later they something that contradicts it. It goes on and on.”
“Everything causes cancer,” said Caroline Rourke, an energy policy analyst, also on her way out of the grocery. “Life causes cancer. Who cares what food does? Life is terminal, isn’t it?"
[Another food to worry about? Honey not as healthy as we think.]
In recent years, meat consumption has been the target of multi-faceted social criticism, with debates erupting not just over its role on human health, but the impact of feedlots on the environment and on animal welfare. The public debate over the WHO’s findings will probably play out with political lobbying and in marketing messages for consumers.
An industry group, the North American Meat Institute, called the WHO report “dramatic and alarmist overreach,” and it mocked the panel’s previous work for approving a substance found in yoga pants and treating coffee, sunlight and wine as potential cancer hazards.
The WHO panel “says you can enjoy your yoga class, but don’t breathe air (Class I carcinogen), sit near a sun-filled window (Class I), apply aloe vera (Class 2B) if you get a sunburn, drink wine or coffee (Class I and Class 2B), or eat grilled food (Class 2A),” said Betsy Booren, vice president of scientific affairs for the group.
“We simply don’t think the evidence supports any causal link between any red meat and any type of cancer,” said Shalene McNeill, executive director of human nutrition at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
But at its core, the issue revolves around science, and in particular the difficulty that arises whenever scientists try to link any food to a chronic disease.
Experiments to test whether a food causes cancer pose a massive logistical challenge: they require controlling the diets of thousands of test subjects over a course of many years. For example, one group might be assigned to eat lots of meat and another less, or none. But for a variety of reasons involving cost and finding test subjects, such experiments are rarely conducted, and scientists instead often use other less direct methods, known as epidemiological or observational studies, to draw their conclusions.
“I understand that people may be skeptical about this report on meat because the experimental data is not terribly strong,” said Paolo Boffetta, a professor of Tisch Cancer Institute at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine who has served on similar WHO panels. “But in this case the epidemiological evidence is very strong.”
[Why the Bureau of Prisons stripped pork from the menu for federal inmates]
Some scientists, however, have criticized the epidemiological studies for too often reaching “false positives,” that is, concluding that something causes cancer when it doesn’t.
“Is everything we eat associated with cancer?” asked a much noted 2012 paper in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
That paper reviewed the academic studies conducted on common cookbook ingredients. Of the 50 ingredients considered, 40 had been studied for their relation to cancer. Individually, most of those studies found that consumption of the food was correlated with cancer. But when the research on any given ingredient was considered collectively, those effects typically shrank or disappeared.
“Many single studies highlight implausibly large effects, even though evidence is weak,” the authors concluded.
Although epidemiological studies were critical in proving the dangers of cigarettes, the magnitude of the reported meat risk is much smaller, and it is hard for scientists to rule out statistical confounding as the cause of the apparent danger.
Moreover, some skeptics noted that two experiments that tested diets with reduced meat consumption, the Polyp Prevention Trial and the Women’s Health Initiative, found that people who reduced their meat intake did not appear to have a lower cancer risk. It is possible, though, that the reductions in animal flesh were too small to have an effect.
“It might be a good idea not to be an excessive consumer of meat,” said Jonathan Schoenfeld, the co-author of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition article and an assistant professor in radiation oncology at Harvard Medical School. “But the effects of eating meat may be minimal, if anything.”
Read more:
Was it wrong that the government steered people away from whole milk for decades?
How Coca-Cola has tricked everyone into drinking so much of it
What Americans do with fish is shocking
Why Americans are falling out of love with one of their favorite fruits
Whole milk, butter and eggs are now okay to eat. What's next? ||||| If you like bacon, you’ll love this. And if you don’t like bacon, WTF?
Researchers at Oregon State have patented a new strain of seaweed. But if you’re thinking, “Yes! I love seaweed salad,” you’ve got it all wrong. This new strain of seaweed actually tastes like bacon when it’s cooked. No, this is not a drill.
The seaweed is a form of red marine algae and looks like a translucent red lettuce. It has twice the nutritional value of kale — and yes, it still tastes like bacon.
Oregon State researcher Chris Langdon told Business Insider that his team was looking to find a good food source for edible sea snails (a super popular delicacy in parts of Asia) when they started growing this particular strain of seaweed. The new type of red algae normally grows along the Pacific and Atlantic coastlines. After his colleague Chuck Toombs said he thought this particular seaweed had the potential for a new industry in Oregon, Toombs began working with Oregon State’s Food Innovation Center to create different foods using the seaweed as a main ingredient — and hallelujah! Bacon seaweed was born.
We’re not sure just yet whether or not it would be commercialized, but I’m thinking, YASSSS, YASSSS, DO IT. Vegans and vegetarians could finally eat bacon (er, a bacon-like seaweed), and the rest of us would have a healthier alternative.
And be able to eat more bacon.
Image via Flickr/Akuppa John Wigham
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– The World Health Organization delivered bad news to bacon lovers Monday morning, declaring that the breakfast staple causes cancer. In fact, the report by a WHO research arm found that all processed meats, including sausages, ham, and hot dogs, are carcinogens, reports the Guardian. Specifically, the report says that 50 grams a day—about two slices of bacon—raises the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%, reports the BBC. The report also declared that red meat itself is "probably" carcinogenic, not going quite as far as its warning over processed meats. Still, the controversial assertions go further than those of other health groups such as the American Cancer Society, which have merely warned of possible links between the consumption of such foods and a heightened risk of cancer, reports the Washington Post. "For an individual, the risk of developing colorectal cancer because of their consumption of processed meat remains small, but this risk increases with the amount of meat consumed," says a WHO doctor. Expect a furious pushback from the global meat industry, reports the Financial Times. Already, the North American Meat Institute has accused the WHO of "dramatic and alarmist over-reach." Most coverage cites coverage from medical experts on both sides of the debate, and the Guardian quotes a general practitioner who strikes a middle ground. "I think we have to take it within reason in that if you are stuffing in burgers and sausages and bacon every day, yes, you are at risk," she says. “If you have some healthy, locally made high-protein sausage once a fortnight, well, I personally don't consider that a risk." (You could also eat this instead of bacon.)
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Photo Illustration by Newsweek. Source: Emil Vas / AP
For years, during the grim and seemingly endless Balkan wars of the 1990s, Ratko Mladic appeared a mysterious, almost mythic figure, a stout and red-faced general in combat fatigues, who was rarely seen by anyone but his most trusted men. To many Serbs, he was a hero, a defender of national pride and values. To the families of his victims, he was a coldblooded killer who led his soldiers not into battle, but into a state of carnage during the disintegration of Yugoslavia. While all sides—Muslim, Croats, and Serbs—were guilty of heinous crimes, it was Mladic’s men who crossed into infamy, slaughtering nearly 8,000 Muslim boys and men during the July 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
During the years I spent reporting these Balkan wars, my notebooks grew thick with accounts of the terror Serbian snipers inflicted on the residents of Sarajevo, the city they held in a malevolent siege for years. I heard lengthy, heartbreaking accounts of the destruction of Srebrenica, Gorazde, Foca, and Mostar.
Danilo Krstanovic / Reuters-Corbis Days of Despair
But I met Mladic only once.
It was the winter of 1993, a particularly desperate time for the Bosnian civilians, whose villages were left behind as smoldering pyres by marauding Serbian soldiers. Somehow, by a muddy road, through pelting, icy rain, I had made it to Lukavica, the Serb military stronghold where Mladic and his men had made a stop. Dressed in full military regalia, the general was seated in his jeep, appearing smaller than I had expected. I asked him for an interview. Looking at me with a glacial stare, he seemed to regard me not as human but as some strange species. “Tell the reporter to move away from my car before I run her down,” he barked to one of his lackeys. I never saw him again.
It would take almost two decades after that before he was finally caught. His wife, Bosiljka, had claimed he was dead; there was speculation that he had had plastic surgery to avoid capture. But last week, after too many close calls, too much leaked information, too many escapes, Serb intelligence agents found the 69-year-old general at last. His face, though aged, was the same—that of Europe’s most notorious fugitive from justice. Serbia’s president during the war, Slobodan Milosevic, who preceded Mladic to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague after he was arrested in 2001, was known as the Butcher of the Balkans (his trial ended without a verdict when he died in prison in 2006). But it was the bloodthirsty Mladic, soon headed to The Hague himself to stand trial, who oversaw the charnel house.
The capture of Mladic ends what Boris Tadic, the current Serb president, described (with a monumental euphemism) as a “difficult period of our history.” His arrest, he said, will remove “a stain from the face of the members of our nation wherever they live.” Perhaps it will also, in some small way, ease the anguish of the families of the victims who, in the words of the prosecutor for the ICTY, suffered “unimaginable horrors.”
Returning to the Balkans earlier this year to report on the hunt for Mladic, I visited a small, enclosed cemetery called Topcidersko Grobilje on a wooded hillside in the Serbian capital of Belgrade, where families were laying flowers and offerings to the dead. Among the neat Orthodox headstones, near a small chapel, I found the lonely corner where the general’s daughter is buried. Under a small pine tree, plastic flowers are scattered around a simple black marble headstone inscribed “Ana Mladic, 1971–1994.” A cigarette butt was stubbed into the earth nearby. Caretakers told me Ana’s family never visits, but somehow I sensed the spirit of the general, who adored his only daughter, coming here to grieve.
Ana killed herself under mysterious circumstances. In Belgrade, I got different versions: that she had read an account of her father’s atrocities in a newspaper and felt sickened, unable to live with the name Mladic; that Ana, a medical student, had come back from a conference in Russia, where she had been abused on account of her father, suffering some kind of emotional trauma; or that simply, like many of her compatriots, she was tired of living with war. Whatever motivated Ana to take her own life, she did it in dramatic fashion—shooting herself with her father’s favorite gun.
Those close to him say that perhaps it was Ana’s death that spurred him deeper into savagery. “Some people think he went mad,” one of Mladic’s commanders told me as I met him one afternoon in a grand but faded café on Belgrade’s Knez Mihaila Street. The man, who goes by the nom de guerre Jovan, knew Mladic and his moods well, and expressed admiration for the general, who, he said, was well respected by his men because he was an excellent soldier who did what he demanded of others. “If they did push-ups, he did push-ups,” Jovan said. But after Ana’s death, he changed.
“Mladic’s life had two phases—before and after the death of Ana,” Jovan told me. He had to run an army, win a war. But his heart and spirit were broken. “He never recovered,” Jovan said. “He was a broken man.” Bitter military losses followed. And something else. “Do you know what happened a year after Ana died?” Jovan asked me, bowing his head.
One word: “Srebrenica.”
Even among the Balkan atrocities, Srebrenica is a particularly black mark on European history. In 1993, after Serb forces had laid siege to the former mining town in eastern Bosnia, I went to the mayor’s office in Tuzla and communicated by radio with the city’s defenders inside. Supposedly protected by U.N. forces, Srebrenica was endlessly shelled, with surgeons operating without anesthetic and no humanitarian convoys able to break the blockade. “In the name of God, do something,” one man pleaded to me, indelibly etching the terror of his voice on my memory.
After the city fell to Serb forces three years later, during an unrelentingly hot summer, refugees flooded out of the city, carrying horrific stories of murder, rape, and starvation. The Serb soldiers had separated boys and men from women, as Dutch U.N. peacekeepers supposedly kept guard. A little girl waved goodbye to her father after lunch and never saw him again until he was pulled out of a mass grave. A mother told me of how she had dressed her 13-year-old boy like a girl so that he wouldn’t be rounded up and killed in the woods. He was ripped from her arms.
For the thousands of women who were held in “rape camps” in eastern Bosnia, for the families of the countless people who were “ethnically cleansed,” for war-crime investigators, and for those of us who helplessly witnessed the destruction of Sarajevo, it was imperative to find Mladic. He had to stand trial if there was ever to be even a semblance of justice. The Balkan wars inflicted trauma not just on the people of Bosnia, on the Serbs, the Croats, and the Muslims, but on Europe as a whole, shamed by its own impotence in the face of slaughter.
So why did it take so long to catch this aging, ill man?
Zoran Dragisic, a professor in terrorism studies at Belgrade University and an authority on the Mladic hunt, says the general was able to evade justice for so long because Serb government agents within the military and security forces protected him. Serge Brammertz, the ICTY prosecutor, was methodical but often thwarted by internal leaks.
The United States and Serbia offered more than $ 1 million in reward. But the bounty hunters didn’t linger long, frustrated by the wild topography of the country—and its laws, which forbid bounty hunting. Ordinary Serbs themselves shuddered at the thought of collecting the reward. “Whoever takes it would die in about two minutes,” a Serb man told me. “Remember, there are still many people who see Mladic as a hero.”
Not that there weren’t any close calls—there were many. Three years ago, Mladic was spotted in a remote village. But by the time the authorities arrived, he had been alerted and vanished into thin air. One Serb officer told me that a man in a Belgrade apartment block reported a suspicious-looking character who had moved in next door. The man, it seemed, moved only at night. He was—facts revealed later—Ratko Mladic. But by the time the police arrived, obstructed by Mladic loyalists, the general was gone.
The incredible stories of Mladic’s escapes fueled a number of conspiracy theories (a Balkan specialty). One had it that Mladic had made a deal with the late Richard Holbrooke, the American diplomat who had negotiated the Dayton peace accords, ending the war in 1995. “Mladic was in charge of welcoming the American troops into Bosnia shortly after Dayton in early 1996,” says Dejan Anastasijevic, a leading Serb investigative journalist. “It is widely believed that the Americans said if he cooperated and did not run for political office, he would escape the long arm of The Hague.” Another theory holds that the Americans, who trained Croatian troops in Operation Flash, which helped the Croats take the Krajina region from the Serbs in 1995, struck a deal with Mladic: Krajina in exchange for his immunity after the war was over. Kati Marton, Holbrooke’s widow, dismissed this alleged deal as a “ridiculous rumor” concocted by Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader who is currently on trial at The Hague. “I’m telling you flat-out, it never happened,” she says. “Richard only met with Mladic once, and that was when Milosevic sprung him on Richard and his negotiating team in the summer of ’95 in Belgrade. Richard did not shake hands with [him] … and would not negotiate. Richard would be very, very happy with this event, and I deeply regret that he did not live to see it.”
The Crazy House is a nondescript café in New Belgrade, where diehard fans of Mladic gather beneath portraits of the general and Karadzic, who was captured and brought to The Hague three years ago. The men calmly reading the sports pages and eating hard-boiled eggs do not see either of those men as war criminals. But elsewhere in Serbia, many I talked to on my visit spoke with hope of Mladic’s capture. They wanted to stop worshiping idols from the past; like Mladic’s victims, their lives had been shattered by the wars, too. “Mladic sees himself as a man of honor,” Vladimir Vukcevic, the Serbian chief prosecutor, told me. “It’s a strange man of honor who [keeps] an entire nation hostage and doesn’t allow us to move forward.”
And earlier this year a diplomat presciently told me: “This is the year it must happen.” Serbia is currently in the process of applying for European Union membership—something that would break the country’s isolation and pariah status, and offer tangible economic benefits. Getting Mladic, however, had been presented as a condition for membership. (Another conspiracy theory: some in Serb government circles always knew where Mladic was, but didn’t offer him up to the ICTY until they felt it was worth it—there were too many euros at stake.)
Certainly, with 20 percent unemployment and an entire generation of young Serbs demoralized by the war and its aftermath, people want change. And perhaps it’s coming. At the 15th-anniversary commemoration of the horrors of Srebrenica, President Tadic attended—a first, and a symbolic gesture that many saw as a vivid break with the past.
I went to that commemoration, too. It is hard for me to go to Srebrenica—a city now almost entirely inhabited by Serbs, its Muslim population erased—without thinking of what might have happened had the international community acted sooner. What would have happened had Ana not killed herself, but instead pleaded with her father to stop the killing?
Leaving Belgrade, I drove by Mladic’s old house, a modest white villa in the Banovo Brdo neighborhood. His son Darko, 35, lives there now with his wife, a Muslim woman who became an Orthodox Christian, and their two little children. At the house, I noticed the small garden littered with children’s toys, a bicycle parked outside, and a scooter discarded under a staircase—fragments from an ordinary life. But what the tableau failed to reveal were the missing years, all that time Mladic spent in hiding—holding an entire country hostage, delaying the reckoning.
It eventually came. ||||| Serbia judges reject Ratko Mladic extradition appeal
Serbia's war crimes court has rejected Ratko Mladic's appeal against his transfer to the UN tribunal in The Hague to face genocide charges.
The Belgrade court took just hours to make its decision after receiving the appeal papers on Tuesday morning.
Gen Mladic's lawyer posted the appeal on Monday, saying the former Bosnian Serb commander needed medical attention and was too ill to face trial.
Doctors who examined him on Friday said he was fit enough to be extradited.
The 69-year-old was seized last Thursday in Lazarevo village, north of Belgrade, having been on the run for 16 years.
Gen Mladic is accused of crimes against humanity committed during the Bosnian war, including the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 7,500 Muslim men and boys.
Delaying tactic?
Now the appeal has been rejected, Serbia's deputy war crimes prosecutor Bruno Vekaric said Gen Mladic would be sent to the UN war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague "as soon as possible".
The extradition order must first be signed by Serbia's justice minister, who will hold a news conference later on Tuesday, prompting speculation Gen Mladic could be put on a flight to The Hague later in the day, says the BBC's Mark Lowen in Belgrade.
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From there, he is expected to be flown by helicopter to the ICTY detention unit in the city's Scheveningen neighbourhood.
Once he has arrived at the tribunal, there will be an initial hearing before preparations begin for his trial on genocide and other charges.
Despite a decision by a Belgrade court that Gen Mladic was fit enough to be handed over to the UN court, defence lawyer Milos Saljic said earlier he would request another independent medical examination, saying his client's health had deteriorated since his arrest.
Serbian court officials had earlier dismissed the claim of ill health as a delaying tactic, dismissing as unfounded media reports that Gen Mladic had hearing difficulties and that his right arm was paralysed - possibly as a result of a stroke.
Candle and flowers
Earlier on Tuesday Gen Mladic had been allowed to visit the grave of his daughter Ana, albeit under heavy security.
Ana Mladic committed suicide in 1994 aged 23, reportedly shooting herself with her father's favourite pistol after she read about his alleged crimes in a magazine.
During the 20-minute visit to her grave, Gen Mladic lit a candle and he left a small white bouquet of flowers with a red rose in the middle, said Serbia's deputy war crimes prosecutor, Bruno Vekaric.
War in the former Yugoslavia 1991 - 1999 The former Yugoslavia was a Socialist state created after German occupation in World War II and a bitter civil war. A federation of six republics, it brought together Serbs, Croats, Bosnian Muslims, Albanians, Slovenes and others under a comparatively relaxed communist regime. Tensions between these groups were successfully suppressed under the leadership of President Tito. After Tito's death in 1980, tensions re-emerged. Calls for more autonomy within Yugoslavia by nationalist groups led in 1991 to declarations of independence in Croatia and Slovenia. The Serb-dominated Yugoslav army lashed out, first in Slovenia and then in Croatia. Thousands were killed in the latter conflict which was paused in 1992 under a UN-monitored ceasefire. Bosnia, with a complex mix of Serbs, Muslims and Croats, was next to try for independence. Bosnia's Serbs, backed by Serbs elsewhere in Yugoslavia, resisted. Under leader Radovan Karadzic, they threatened bloodshed if Bosnia's Muslims and Croats - who outnumbered Serbs - broke away. Despite European blessing for the move in a 1992 referendum, war came fast. Yugoslav army units, withdrawn from Croatia and renamed the Bosnian Serb Army, carved out a huge swathe of Serb-dominated territory. Over a million Bosnian Muslims and Croats were driven from their homes in ethnic cleansing. Serbs suffered too. The capital Sarajevo was besieged and shelled. UN peacekeepers, brought in to quell the fighting, were seen as ineffective. International peace efforts to stop the war failed, the UN was humiliated and over 100,000 died. The war ended in 1995 after NATO bombed the Bosnian Serbs and Muslim and Croat armies made gains on the ground. A US-brokered peace divided Bosnia into two self-governing entities, a Bosnian Serb republic and a Muslim-Croat federation lightly bound by a central government. In August 1995 the Croatian army stormed areas in Croatia under Serb control prompting thousands to flee. Soon Croatia and Bosnia were fully independent. Slovenia and Macedonia had already gone. Montenegro left later. In 1999 Kosovo's ethnic Albanians fought Serbs in another brutal war to gain independence. Serbia ended the conflict beaten, battered and alone. BACK {current} of {total} NEXT
Gen Mladic's arrest is considered crucial to Serbia's bid to join the European Union.
Darko Mladic has said his father had told him he was not responsible for the killings in Srebrenica, committed after his troops overran the town in July 1995.
Following the arrest of Radovan Karadzic in 2008, Gen Mladic became the most prominent Bosnian war crimes suspect still at large.
He was indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague in 1995 for genocide over Srebrenica - the worst single atrocity in Europe since World War II - and other alleged crimes.
Having lived freely in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, he disappeared after the arrest of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in 2001.
On Sunday, thousands of people rallied in Belgrade against his arrest, hailing the general as a Serbian national hero and decrying the pro-Western government of President Boris Tadic for arresting him.
About 100 people were arrested during clashes with police.
The government will hope Gen Mladic's departure will quell any further demonstrations by his supporters, adds our correspondent.
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– No surprise here: A tribunal in Serbia had little sympathy for Ratko Mladic's reported ill health and denied his bid to avoid extradition to the Hague to face war crimes charges. He could be on a plane within hours, reports the BBC. Earlier today, officials allowed Mladic to visit his daughter's grave, and the New York Times and Newsweek provide a fascinating peek at how her death in 1994 is rumored to have changed Mladic for the worse. According to official Serbian accounts, Ana Mladic committed suicide with her father's military pistol. One popular version has it that she caught wind of atrocities in the Balkans and could not deal with it. Mladic, meanwhile, maintains she was murdered. "Some people think he went mad," a former commander tells Newsweek's Janine di Giovanni. “Mladic’s life had two phases—before and after the death of Ana." About a year after her death, the Srebrenica massacre in which he stands accused took place.
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TULSA, Okla. -- A runaway pickup with two dogs at the wheel. It happened Tuesday in Tulsa near 25th and Riverside Drive. No one was injured, but thanks to the two canines traffic was backed up and their owner's truck is badly damaged.
The dogs, Roscoe and Luna, were inside their owner's truck at the top of the hill on 25th Street. In a matter of minutes, they were barreling across Riverside Drive and into the Arkansas River river bed.
"It's an expensive joy ride," the dogs' owner, Scott said.
Scott told Fox 23 he left his dogs inside his truck for about 15 minutes while he went inside a home.
"I got around to the front of the house where the truck was, and it's like not there," he said. "And I was like 'did I get towed?' and I just thought no it didn't."
One of the dogs put the car into gear and they took off.
"Approximately three blocks down a hill," Tulsa firefighter Clay Ayers said.
The dogs missed drivers on Riverside Drive, runners on the trail and narrowly missed landing in the Arkansas River.
"Two boys on skateboards seen the vehicle leave in front of the residence and they did try to catch up with it with no luck," said Ayers.
Police decided to let Roscoe and Luna off scot-free.
||||| Alice likes vegetables, but the ones she harvests herself are probably the best to her way of thinking. We always make sure she doesn’t overdo eating salads, but sometimes when no one is paying attention….
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– Every dog owner knows the "guilty dog" look that has made sites like Dogshaming.com a hit, but animal behavior experts say the pooches don't really feel ashamed at all, the AP finds. Researchers have found that the droopy-eyed, cowering look dogs give angry owners is a reaction to the anger, not any expression of guilt over shoe-chewing or food-stealing that happened hours earlier. "I don't think dogs actually feel shame," says Pascal Lemire, creator of Dogshaming.com and author of the book the same name. "I think they know how to placate us with this sad puppy-dog look that makes us think they're ashamed of what they've done." A psychologist who researched the "guilty dog look" says "the 'look' appeared most often when owners scolded their dogs, regardless of whether the dog had disobeyed or did something for which they might or should feel guilty. It wasn't 'guilt' but a reaction to the owner that prompted the look." She adds that while it's possible that dogs may feel guilt, there is a difference between that and shame, and the "guilty look" is no sign of either. In Tulsa, Okla., meanwhile, two dogs are presumably feeling no shame after going for a joyride in their owner's pickup, Fox 23 reports. Their owner says he briefly left them alone in the truck and one of them put it into gear, sending it three blocks down a hill. It came to a stop in a riverbed and while the dogs were fine, the truck was badly damaged.
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Politics Put Largely on Hold After Colorado Shootings
Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images President Barack Obama cut short a planned campaign swing in Florida to fly back to the White House today.
Republicans and Democrats today toned down the politicking after the early morning massacre at a showing of the new Batman movie in Aurora, Colo., canceling events and offering condolences.
And while a few politicians, notably New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, jumped ahead to the inevitable topic of gun control, most stuck to a nonpartisan line of grief after 12 people were reported killed and dozens more wounded.
President Barack Obama and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) separately issued calls for the nation to come together as one family after the tragedy.
“Michelle and I are shocked and saddened by the horrific and tragic shooting in Colorado,” the president said, pledging to support the people of Aurora. “As we do when confronted by moments of darkness and challenge, we must now come together as one American family.”
Obama later made brief remarks at a campaign rally in Fort Myers, Fla., that was cut short.
“If there’s anything to take away from this tragedy, it’s a reminder that life is fragile. Our time here is precious,” Obama said.
Obama said politics can wait.
“There are going to be other days for politics,” he said. “This I think is a day for prayer and reflection.”
Boehner put out his statement not long after Obama released his prepared remarks. “Confronted with incomprehensible evil, Americans pull together and embrace our national family more tightly,” he said. “I join President Obama, and every American, in sending my thoughts and prayers to the victims of this awful tragedy. We will all stand with them, as one nation, in the days ahead.”
Obama cut short a planned campaign swing in Florida to fly back to the White House, and the president and presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney were to address the tragedy separately in midday remarks.
The Romney campaign also said Ann Romney’s campaign events would be canceled today and that the campaign was suspending its ads in Colorado for the time being.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also canceled a press conference he had planned for today, and other lawmakers pulled back from the political fence after the shooting.
Bloomberg, meanwhile, said Obama and Romney should say what they are going to do to deal with gun violence.
“You know, soothing words are nice, but maybe it’s time that the two people who want to be president of the United States stand up and tell us what they are going to do about it, because this is obviously a problem across the country,” he said in a radio interview this morning. ||||| Associated Press President Barack Obama pauses during a moment of silence for the victims of the Aurora, Colo., shooting during an event at the Harborside Event Center in Fort Myers, Fla., Friday, July 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
FORT MYERS, Fla.– President Barack Obama put aside politics as he addressed a crowd here, following the overnight shooting overnight at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo.
“There are going to be other days for politics,” the president said. “This, I think, is a day for prayer and reflection.”
Mr. Obama stepped onto the stage in Fort Myers more than half an hour earlier than scheduled. The crowd was cheering, but the president was somber and quickly urged the audience to sit down.
“I was looking forward to having a fun conversation with you about some really important matters that we face as a country,” he said. “But this morning we woke up to news of a tragedy that reminds us of all the ways we are united as one American family.”
The president reflected on how the tragedy resonates with him as a father of two young daughters. “My daughters go to the movies. What if Malia and Sasha had been at the theater?” he said. “Michelle and I will be fortunate enough to hug our girls a little tighter tonight.”
Mr. Obama vowed whoever is responsible “for this heinous act” would be brought to justice.
“Such violence, such evil is senseless. It’s beyond reason,” he said. “If there’s anything to take away from this tragedy it’s a reminder that life is fragile… and what maters at the end of the day is not the small things, it’s not the trival things… Ultimately it’s how we choose to treat one another and how we love one another.”
Mr. Obama led the crowd in a moment of silence to remember the victims and reflect on the tragedy. He then encouraged the audience to spend some time reflecting. “I hope all of you will keep the people of Aurora in your hearts and minds today,” he said.
President Obama gives remarks on the Colorado theater shooting.
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– Politicking is mostly taking the day off in the wake of the Colorado shooting, notes Roll Call. President Obama stepped away from his stump speech in Florida to speak of the shooting, and Mitt Romney was expected to do the same later today. The Romney camp also pulled ads from Colorado. Some highlights from the president's speech, per the Wall Street Journal: "This morning we woke up to a news of a tragedy that reminds us of all the ways we are united as one American family." “My daughters go to the movies. What if Malia and Sasha had been at the theater? Michelle and I will be fortunate enough to hug our girls a little tighter tonight.” "Such violence, such evil is senseless. It is beyond reason." "There are going to be other days for politics. This is a day for prayer and reflection.”
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It takes a truly special human being to combine pretension and douchebro-ed-ness into something that, when you take a step back, starts to look like elaborate, brilliant performance art. Guy Fieri is that human, except that nothing he does is intended as satire.
As of Monday, we have the menu for Fieri's new Las Vegas restaurant, Guy Fieri's Vegas Kitchen and Bar, and we're going to mock damn near every single thing on it in excruciating detail.
You remember Guy Fieri, don't you? Of course you do. How could you forget him? He looks like the end result of a hedgehog having sex with Kevin Smith and he sounds like every unbelievably irritating "class clown" you had to put up with in middle school. Remember Teddy, the kid who used to lick things (lockers, gym floors, squirrels, etc.) to get a laugh? Guy Fieri is that guy, but with a better PR firm and increased access to hair care products. He's like the Swedish Chef's significantly less-adorable, drug-addicted brother who the Swedish Chef refuses to publicly acknowledge.
This menu comes courtesy of Eater Las Vegas, who have re-printed it in its entirety. You can click that link and read it unaccompanied by snarky commentary, but it's probably easier just to bang your face into your desk a few times. Luckily, Kitchenette is willing to delve into the sea of stupid for you, because that's just how committed we are to making fun of Guy Fieri.
Shareables Sashimi Won-Tacos $14 Everyone's fave 'cuz they're wicked tasty! Sashimi grade ahi & serious mango-jicama salsa are packed into wonton taco shells + drizzled with "wow-sabi" cream.
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Well, we're certainly off to a rollicking start. "Wow-sabi?" Is that like Wasabi, but with added essence of douchebag? Also, what did I fucking say about using "+" instead of "and"? Go sit in the corner and think about what you've done.
The Ultimate Asian Chicken Wraps $13 Guy gives you three ways to devour. Chinese minced chicken, Southeast Asian spring rolls, Thai style skewers + a variety of skewers let you create your custom starter.
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Three ways to devour: you can eat a thing, or also...uh...eat a thing? You may not have thought this one through, Guy Fieri. Also, there's a joke to be had with "Thai style skewers + a variety of skewers," but that just feels like low-hanging fruit at this point.
Guy-talian Fondue Dippers $13 Pepperoni-wrapped breadstick twists served alongside our smoky provolone + sausage cheese dip, topped with fresh tomato bruschetta.
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Guy-talian. GUY-TALIAN. GUY-talian. Guy-TALIAN. If I say that a few more times while staring into a bathroom mirror at night, do you think Guy Fieri pops up behind me and threatens to prepare his Fondue Dippers? Because on balance, I'd rather have Bloody Mary.
Los Nachos Del Jefe $14 The boss don't mess around...crispy corn tortilla chips are topped with black beans, chorizo, cheddar + cotija cheeses, slivered red onions + jalapenos, built to make each nacho the perfect bite!
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The "+" denotes how EXTRA FUCKING CHEESY IT IS. How else would you know? It's PLUS cheese! Additional cheese! See?! GUY FIERI CAN MATHS!
Righteous Rojo Rings $12 A little sweet, a little spicy, a whole lot of flavor! Guy's rojo dipping sauce takes these rings straight to the bank.
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YEAH! Guy's rojo dipping sauce goes straight to the bank! And then Guy's rojo dipping sauce invests poorly in subprime mortgages, creating a financial meltdown that puts thousands of people out of their homes and turns Detroit into a post-apocalyptic wasteland! ROCKIN'!
Guy's Fries Triple T Fries $14 Truffle, truffle + more truffle! Julienned cut fries tossed with black truffle & truffle infused gouda, served with a creamy white truffle dip. Proof that you can't have too much of a good thing.
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Of course this menu would feature truffles somewhere, because "truffles" is how you shine the Douchebag Signal into the night sky in modern American restaurant culture. Although if you're getting these for $14, those aren't actual truffles, he's using white truffle oil. I would say he should be ashamed, but we all know by now that Guy Fieri has no concept of shame.
Vegas Fries $12 Order 'em in the city they were born! Sidewinder cut fries are tossed in spicy buffalo sauce, topped with blue cheese crumble + served with Guy's blue-sabi sauce.
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Buffalo sauce, source of origin: Buffalo, NY.
Bleu cheese, source of origin: Somewhere in France (possibly Roquefort).
Wasabi, source of origin: Japan.
The unfathomably stupid idea to combine wasabi and bleu cheese, source of origin: One of Guy Fieri's other restaurants, probably Tex Wasabi's in California.
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The only part of this that says "Las Vegas" to me is the part where eating them entails gambling with your digestive tract.
Greens & Chili Beans
Well, it rhymes. That's why those go together, apparently. Totally logical.
Southern Smothered Chili Bowl $11 Our low and slow cooking style gives Guy's dragon breath chili vast dimensions of flavor. It's topped with sweet cornbread, sour cream & scallions.
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There could be ghost peppers, pig lips and cow's ears in this, but who knows? It's just some shit about dragons that's supposed to entice us to eat this fucking slop monstrosity. You're not goddamned Khaleesi, Guy Fieri (although please, for the love God, someone photoshop this). It's covered in sour cream, though, so at least the flavor of raccoon anus is kept to a minimum.
Chicken Wonton Takeout Salad $14 This one-of-a-kind-salad has everything but the kitchen sink. Crisp Napa tips tossed with mixed greens, mandarins toasted cashews & the usual suspects, finished with ginger vinaigrette + skewered chicken wontons.
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Dammit, Guy Fieri, what have I told you about putting Benicio del Toro in my salad? He's WAY too gamey to be a salad meat! I thought we'd been over this. Also, I swear to God I read this as "Crisp Tapa nips," which would seem ridiculous, but this is a Guy Fieri menu, so really nothing should surprise me at this point. If there's a human being who could look at a plate of nipples and go, "TUBULARLY DELICIOUS!" that human is Guy Fieri.
Morgan's Gnarly Greek Salad $13 Guy's take on the Greek salad will send you on a tour of the Mediterranean with its bold flavors, hearts of romaine, fresh veggies, hummus, feta, Parmesan croutons + tangy lemon vinaigrette. Toga not included.
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This is quite literally the most bland, American tour of Greece and Grecian cuisine that could possibly exist, and I include Carnival Cruises in that assessment. There aren't even any olives in this! Or crippling, ill-advised austerity measures! I call shenanigans.
The Guy-talian Deli Salad $16 We have built this salad in a crown of prosciutto-wrapped smoked provolone! Filled with crisp romaine lettuce, imported Italian meats & cheeses, pickled Italian veggies + tossed in a red wine vinaigrette.
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With most chefs, I'd assume "crown" is just a weird, ill-advised metaphor, but with Guy Fieri, I think he actually intended his customers to wear this and declare themselves King of Saladopolis. All hail His Majesty, the Monarch of Mixed Greens! May his reign be meatiful and may he swim in dressings aplenty.
Brutha's Badass Caesar Salad $15 Chopped romaine lettuce, croutons, lots of Parmesan cheese + Guy's favorite Caesar dressing are loaded into a crisp, garlicy mega-crouton.
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OK, this threw me, because my initial reaction was to think he was for some reason referring to the main character from Terry Pratchett's Small Gods, but I knew that couldn't be true, because that would imply that Guy Fieri has read a book. Fortunately, a friend explained to me that it's apparently slang for "brother" or "bro" or "complete doucheschooner." Good to know.
Big Bite Burgers Welcome to burger nirvana. All of our richly marbled 100% USDA choice ground beef is smash-grilled! Your taste buds will thank you.
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My taste buds will surely do something, but I'm fairly confident "thanking me" is not it. Also, I'm picturing Guy Fieri hitting a burger with a grill right now. You didn't read that backwards.
The Off-Da-Hook Original Smash Burger $16 This burger is money! Crunchy righteous rojo rings, ITOP + the kicker- Guy's bourbon brown sugar BBQ sauce is sandwiched between a toasted brioche bun. It'll leave you in a food coma!
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When he tells you his food will put you into a coma, he's not speaking metaphorically. Seriously, make sure your medical alert bracelet has new batteries and is within easy reach.
The Mayor of Flavortown Burger $17 The meat blanket of seasoned pastrami sends this burger outta bounds. Swiss, caraway seed slaw, dill pickles, onion straws, Dijon mustard + an "awesome pretzel bun" finish off this bad boy.
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Let's start with the fact that he only wrote "meat blanket" because he knew he'd get in trouble if he used "beef curtains." Also, I question whether this burger really is the duly elected representative of the residents of Flavortown. There were numerous voting irregularities in the recent Flavorlection, and that's not even getting into the problems with the butterfinger-fly ballots and the unresolved issue of hanging chards.
Congratulations: if you understood any of those references, you are old.
The Triple B Burger $16 Go big or go home! Kicked up with Creole blackened spice & topped with blue cheese, ancho bacon, ITOP + a generous smear of Guy's famous donkey sauce.
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If you're curious, "ITOP" is apparently "lettuce, tomato, onions, and pickles," and no one has ever shown Guy Fieri what happens when you capitalize three of those letters while still leaving the fourth one lower-case. GUY FIERI HAS NO TIME FOR YOUR PROOFREADING — THERE ARE MORE WOMEN TO HARASS AND GAYS OF WHICH TO BE FRIGHTENED! RADICAL!
The Mac + Cheese Bacon Burger $17 The burger that crushed its competition in New York City's 2013 burger bash! Built with crispy applewood bacon, six-cheese mac, ITOP + more super-melty cheese between a garlicy toasted brioche bun.
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In the original draft of this menu, "super-melty cheese" was shortened, with no explanation whatsoever, to "SMC." I'm really starting to feel like Guy Fieri is the world's most elaborate performance artist at this point. Have we ever seen him and Herman Cain in the same room? Because I'm convinced they're both Andy Kaufman in disguise.
Tatted-Up Turkey Burger $16 This burger is a work of art like Guy's tattoos. Smash-grilled with poblanos & pepper jack. Topped with gouda, ancho bacon, sweet pepper red onion jam, ITOP, donkey sauce + served on an "awesome pretzel" bun.
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First: commas, Guy. They are your friends. Second, your tattoos are not a work of art. Nothing about you is a work of art, unless the Smithsonian built a Dickhead Museum when I wasn't looking, in which case you'd be the prime exhibit. Wait, unless...is there a burger tattoo artist in the back? Does he deal exclusively in tribal bands? Do you think he could do a mermaid on my turkey burger and make it dance?!
Ain't Nothing Butta Chicken Wing... All our wings are trimmed into "lollipops" so they're super easy to eat, then we brine & roast each one before frying & tossing in one of our off-da-hook wing sauces.
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No one says "ain't nothing but a chicken wing," Guy. No one. That doesn't even rhyme. It's "ain't no thing but a chicken wing." Christ, I'm whiter than a mayonnaise truck accident at the RNC, and even I know that. It shouldn't be physically possible for me to be more disappointed in you as a human being than I already am, but against all odds, every new thing you do is somehow worse than the last horrible thing. You're like Bizarro Jennifer Lawrence.
Fireball Whiskey Wings $14 These wings are certainly not for the faint of heart & should probably be illegal. Classic buffalo sauce + fireball whiskey meet to ignite a flavor explosion of epic proportions. Try Guy's blue-sabi sauce to put out the fire!
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Saying that your food "should probably be illegal" is the first truthful thing you've said on this entire menu, although you're selling yourself short — there's no "should be" about it. Also, I'm pretty sure the only "explosion of epic proportions" you're going to be detonating is in your customers' colons.
Double Barrel BBQ Wings $14 Guy's signature bourbon brown sugar BBQ is bold & flavorful + we drench these wings in it!
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If there's one thing I'm learning from this menu, it's that Guy Fieri's brain pretty much has three settings: smother, smear, and drench. I don't even want to think about what that implies about his sex life.
You're welcome for that mental image.
Parmageddon Wings $13 Our breaded chicken parmesan wings + apocalyptic marinara. They might not end the world, but they'll end your hunger!
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"When the Fieri broke the Fourth Seal, I heard the voice of the winged creature say, 'Order me.' And I looked and beheld a Parmesan-covered horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and heartburn followed with him. And I beheld when the Fieri had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great indigestion; and the chicken became as sackcloth, and the marinara became as blood; and there was a great weeping of douchebros and gnashing of menus."
Old Skool Street Tacos Love, peace & taco grease!
This quote is just sitting there on the menu, apropos of nothing. Oh, Guy Fieri. Never change.
Victor's Street Tacos $16 Street cart grilled chicken, onions & cilantro. We put zesty roasted-red salsa + guacamole on the side so you can make 'em on your own!
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Just when I thought you couldn't get any lazier about your lame Midwesternesque rest-stop cuisine TOTALLY RADTACULAR EATS, you make me construct my own taco? Clever way to outsource your food labor, Guy.
Carne Asada Street Tacos $16 Juicy, marinated skirt steak is the MVP of these tacos! Finished with onions, cilantro, generous sides of roasted red salsa + fresh pico de gallo.
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How did we suddenly get into sports metaphors? Is this code? Oh my God, is Guy Fieri secretly a Russian operative?!
Lava Rock Shrimp Tacos $17 Crispy fried shrimp, cabbage, pickled red onions, cilantro + topped with pink chili mayo for an added kick!
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The description of these doesn't sound gross enough on its own, so I have to assume he culls the shrimp from dumpsters out back of Vegas Red Lobsters and cabbage from last night's strip club buffet. Let's just go with that.
Knuckle Sandwiches The Big Dipper Sandwich $17 The mack daddy of all roast beef sandwiches. House-smoked shaved prime-rib, pepper jack cheese, crispy onions + creamy horseradish on a toasted garlic torpedo roll. How can you resist?
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Very easily, Guy. Very, very easily.
The Motley Que Sandwich $17 Straight from Guy's BBQ krew. Pulled pork smothered in Guy's bourbon brown BBQ sauce, citrus slaw, pickle chips, aged cheddar + onion straws…stacked on an "awesome pretzel" bun.
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I know you think that word is pronounced a certain way, Guy, but you just titled a menu item "the Motley what sandwich." Also, when even Guy himself puts "awesome pretzel" in quotations, you know that neither one of those words has even the most tenuous connection to reality.
'67 Cajun Sandwich $16 This one packs a punch! It's crammed with blackened chicken, Andouille sausage, cheddar cheese, the creole trinity + Louisiana hot sauce.
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'67? Is this another code? THE FOX IS IN THE HENHOUSE, THE FOX IS IN THE HENHOUSE, DO NOT ENGAGE, VICTOR CHARLIE.
Pic-a-Nik Sandwich $16 Not your av-er-age turkey sandwich. Swiss cheese + citrus-cranberry relish, chillin' on an "awesome pretzel" hoagie smeared with Guy's famous donkey sauce.
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If the words "smeared with Guy's famous donkey sauce" don't insta-dry your lady parts/cause your balls to ascend into your man treehouse, there is something deeply wrong with you.
Flavortown Finale Guy's Cheesecake Challenge $12 A huge mountain of cheesecake topped with potato chips, pretzels + hot fudge.
Wait, you topped a cheesecake with potato chips and pretzels?! You are the reason we need a Geneva Convention for food, Guy Fieri. Your food crimes must be stopped.
S'mores Monte Cristo $10 Brioche, graham cracker butter, marshmallow & chocolate with chocolate + raspberry dipping sauces.
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"Man, I love Monte Cristos, but they're way too healthy."
"Boss, I've got it: make one out of s'mores!"
"FUCK YES, DONNY! YOU'RE A GODDAMN CULINARY ALBERT EINBERG!"
"Uh, boss, my name is Steve."
"FUCK YOU, I'M GUY FIERI AND YOUR NAME IS DONNY IF I GODDAMN WELL SAY IT'S DONNY."
Triple Doublemint Pie $11 Mint chocolate chip ice cream with oreo cookie crust + hot fudge.
After reading "Triple Doublemint," I take it back. Guy Fieri definitely cannot maths.
Fried Ice cream Boulder Sundae $11 A build your own sundae brouhaha featuring a meringue wrapped fried ice cream + host of toppings."
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This is how you know Guy Fieri just prematurely blew his descriptive load — he got in a brouhaha, but finished with an anemic "host of toppings." What toppings would those be, Guy? RIGHTEOUS ROCKIN' RAISINS! SURFIN' SAFARI SPRINKLES! WOW-SABI WHIPPED CREAM! Who are we kidding? He's just going to smear this with Donkey Sauce like everything else on the fucking menu.
Image via Getty. Special thanks to Kinja user Smithwellette for help in writing this post. ||||| Earlier this week Guy Fieri, the Demon Barber of Flavortown, flung open the doors to his newest foodatorium, Guy Fieri's Vegas Kitchen & Bar. There were no survivors.
Eater published the full menu (with prices) on Monday. The bill of fare is packed with eerie, evocative lines ("We have built this salad in a crown of prosciutto-wrapped smoked provolone") and sprinkled with a liberal dusting of exclamation points ("We have built this salad in a crown of prosciutto-wrapped smoked provolone!").
At times, the menu appears to be warning prospective customers about itself. "These wings are certainly not for the faint of heart & should probably be illegal," it cautions of "Fireball Whiskey Wings," which it continues to advertise despite the fact they should probably be illegal.
Fireball Whiskey Wings ($14) These wings are certainly not for the faint of heart & should probably be illegal. Classic buffalo sauce + fireball whiskey meet to ignite a flavor explosion of epic proportions. Try Guy's blue-sabi sauce to put out the fire!
"The Off-Da-Hook Original Smash Burger," it panics, will "leave you in a food coma!"
The Off-Da-Hook Original Smash Burger ($16) This burger is money! Crunchy righteous rojo rings, LTOP + the kicker- Guy's bourbon brown sugar BBQ sauce is sandwiched between a toasted brioche bun. It'll leave you in a food coma!
The restaurant's cheesecake offering, described as "a huge mountain of cheesecake," is identified BY NAME as a "challenge."
Guy's Cheesecake Challenge ($12) A huge mountain of cheesecake topped with potato chips, pretzels + hot fudge.
One of the menu's five strains of wings is served with a marinara sauce that is described as "apocalyptic," with no elaboration.
Parmageddon Wings ($13) Our breaded chicken parmesan wings + apocalyptic marinara. They might not end the world, but they'll end your hunger!
A sundae ("Fried Ice cream Boulder Sundae," $11) is not a sundae, but "a sundae brouhaha." A burger ("The Mayor of Flavortown Burger," $17) arrives violently smothered under a blanket made of meat ("meat blanket").
There is bread wrapped in meat for you to dip in a warm mixture of meat and cheese. They put tomatoes on it.
Guy-talian Fondue Dippers ($13) Pepperoni-wrapped breadstick twists served alongside our smoky provolone + sausage cheese dip, topped with fresh tomato bruschetta.
For the complete catalogue of abominations, visit Eater.
[Image via Getty] ||||| Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Eater unveiled the menu for Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen & Bar earlier this week, and it is chockablock with “‘wow-sabi’ cream,” “gnarly Greek salad,” and “Guy’s famous donkey sauce.” It’s also chockablock with exclamation points—21 of them, by my count, starting with the very first item on the menu. (Sashimi Won-Tacos are allegedly “Everyone’s fave ‘cuz they’re wicked tasty!”)
L.V. Anderson L.V. Anderson is a Slate associate editor.
But would Fieri’s menu sound quite as jocular without all those excitable punctuation marks? When I started taking the exclamation points out, I discovered that some of Fieri’s descriptions of greasy bar food convey a powerful poignancy.
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The following poem is comprised of 10 of the exclamations from the Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen & Bar menu. The sentences have been copied verbatim, except that their exclamation points have been replaced with other punctuation. I call it “Ode on a Gnarly Greek Salad.”
Ode on a Gnarly Greek Salad
By Guy Fieri
Truffle, truffle + more truffle,
Love, peace & taco grease.
They might not end the world, but they’ll end your hunger.
We have built this salad in a crown of prosciutto-wrapped smoked provolone:
Go big or go home.
All our richly marbled 100% USDA choice ground beef is smash-grilled—
Try Guy’s blue-sabi sauce to put out the fire.
We make these wings a flavorful phenomenon with a sweet + spicy sauce that
will make your head spin. ||||| 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.
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– Pretty much anything having to do with Guy Fieri and his insane restaurant menu items is sure to be entertaining, and the latest story is no exception: Eater published the full menu from Fieri's newly-opened Vegas Kitchen & Bar in Sin City, and it led both Slate and Gawker to compare it to poetry. In fact, on Slate, LV Anderson actually makes a poem out of the menu simply by removing the rampant exclamation points. Sample lines: "We have built this salad in a crown of prosciutto-wrapped smoked provolone: / Go big or go home." On Gawker, Caity Weaver makes a similar observation, calling the above "crown of prosciutto" line "eerie" and "evocative." Weaver calls out some of the craziest menu items, the best of which could very well be, as Weaver puts it: "A burger ('The Mayor of Flavortown Burger,' $17) arrives violently smothered under a blanket made of meat ('meat blanket')." CA Pinkham goes a step further on Jezebel, mocking nearly every menu item: "'Wow-sabi?' Is that like Wasabi, but with added essence of douchebag?" As for dessert, The Week's roundup of the best items describes Guy's Cheesecake Challenge as "a dessert topped with two snacks and another dessert."
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Google’s “shadow workforce”, known internally as temps, vendors, and contractors (TVC), published a letter addressed to CEO Sundar Pichai on Medium Wednesday demanding higher wages, equal benefits, and access to the same—sometimes life or death—information provided to full-time employees.
This comes a month after 20,000 Google Alphabet employees around the world staged a (managerially approved) walkout to protest how the company addresses sexual harassment—an act that led the company to change its policy and end forced arbitration. But while some celebrated this as a win, Bloomberg reports that the revised sexual misconduct policies didn’t include TVCs, who are employed by third parties to work alongside Googlers.
“We do essential work, from marketing, to running engineering teams, to feeding you and the rest of the Google staff — all without fair benefits or recognition,” TVCs, who Bloomberg reports make up half of the company’s workforce, wrote to Pichai.
TVCs make up more than half of Google’s workforce, and we demand fair treatment. #GoogleWalkout https://t.co/b85WMwi90T — Google Walkout For Real Change (@GoogleWalkout) December 5, 2018
Although Google TVCs perform the same role, the letter noted that they receive lower wages, worse health benefits, and also aren’t given access to town halls and internal communication.
“When the tragic shooting occurred at YouTube in April of this year, the company sent real-time security updates to full-time employees only, leaving TVCs defenseless in the line of fire,” the letter says, alleging that Google, “routinely denies TVCs access to information that is relevant to our jobs and our lives.”
Following the shooting, Google told CNBC that it provided parallel updates to both full-timers and TVCs, however some of those updates went through their third-party employers, which could explain the clogged flow of information.
“The exclusion of TVCs from important communications and fair treatment is part of a system of institutional racism, sexism, and discrimination,” the letter asserted. “TVCs are disproportionately people from marginalized groups who are treated as less deserving of compensation, opportunities, workplace protections and respect.”
Contract workers, who are disproportionately women, people of color, and immigrants, have the most to lose by speaking out – I am *in awe* of their courage today: https://t.co/sLrMeCOVuB — Stephanie Parker (@sparker2) December 5, 2018
Google declined Fortune‘s request for comment.
Although TVCs didn’t state what would happen if their demands for equality weren’t met, the letter did come with a warning: “Google cannot function without us.” ||||| Google staff are instructed not to reward certain workers with perks like T-shirts, invite them to all-hands meetings, or allow them to engage in professional development training, an internal training document seen by the Guardian reveals.
The guide instructs Google employees on the ins and outs of interacting with its tens of thousands of temps, vendors and contractors – a class of worker known at Google as TVCs.
“Working with TVCs and Googlers is different,” the training documentation, titled the The ABCs of TVCs, explains. “Our policies exist because TVC working arrangements can carry significant risks.”
The risks Google appears to be most concerned about include standard insider threats, like leaks of proprietary information, but also – and especially – the risk of being found to be a joint employer, a legal designation which could be exceedingly costly for Google in terms of benefits.
Google’s treatment of TVCs has come under increased scrutiny by the company’s full-time employees (FTEs) amid a nascent labor movement at the company, which has seen workers speak out about both their own working conditions and the morality of the work they perform.
American companies have long turned to temps and subcontractors to plug holes and perform specialized tasks, but Google achieved a dubious distinction this year when Bloomberg reported that in early 2018, the company did not directly employ a majority of its own workforce.
google training doc Recreation of part of a Google training document
According to a current employee with access to the figures, of approximately 170,000 people around the world who now work at Google, 50.05% are FTEs. The rest, 49.95%, are TVCs.
The two-tier system has complicated labor activism at Google. After 20,000 workers joined a global walkout on 1 November, the company quickly gave in to one of the protesters’ demands by ending forced arbitration in cases of sexual harassment – but only for FTEs.
On 5 December, the walkout organizers published an anonymous open letter addressed to Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, from “TVCs at Google”. The letter detailed some of the material concerns that TVCs face due to Google’s differential treatment, including lower wages and “minimal benefits”.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A letter from walkout organizers to Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, condemned the company’s treatment of TVCs. Photograph: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock
But beyond financial inequality, the letter focused on disparate access to information. “Google routinely denies TVCs access to information that is relevant to our jobs and our lives,” the letter states. “When the tragic shooting occurred at YouTube in April of this year, the company sent real-time security updates to full-time employees only, leaving TVCs defenseless in the line of fire. TVCs were then excluded from a town hall discussion the following day.”
Google disputed this account of the shooting, saying that it worked to provide TVCs with security updates during the incident, though some information was sent through a different email account or came from TVCs’ direct employers. The company also said that it invited TVCs to an all-hands meeting at YouTube after the shooting and gave TVCs at the campus where the shooting occurred access to post-shooting resources, including counseling.
Google said it provided employees with training on many topics, including this material on TVCs, “to adhere to labor laws and policies”.
“We hire Google employees to work on jobs that are core to our business, and look to temps, vendors and contractors when we either don’t have the expertise or infrastructure ourselves, or when we need temporary help due to employee leaves or short-term projects,” a Google spokeswoman, Jenn Kaiser, said in a statement. “Temps, vendors and contractors are an important part of our extended workforce, but they are employed by other companies, not Google.”
Red badges v white badges
Matt was on his way to a “whole team” meeting for a project he was working on when he noticed that one of his co-workers, a test engineer, was still at his desk. “You should come,” Matt, a Google software engineer, recalls saying, only to be told that the meeting was not actually for the whole team: temps, vendors and contractors were not allowed.
“The guy sits with us,” Matt told the Guardian of his co-worker. (Matt asked not to be identified by his real name because he is not authorized to speak to the media.) “Like literally next to my desk. He’s got better knowledge than me about parts of the project, to be honest … It changes the dynamic a lot.”
While excluding his co-worker from an important meeting bothered Matt, leaving the TVC out in the cold was the proper procedure, according to The ABCs of TVCs. “When we share strategic or proprietary information with TVCs through meetings or communications, it can create both co-employment and information security risks for Alphabet,” the document states.
The training instructs Google employees not to invite TVCs to all-hands meetings, team offsites, or the company’s weekly “TGIF” meeting, where employees vote on questions to post to top executives. Indeed, according to two current employees, the company often employs security guards to stand outside all-hands meetings, admitting those whose employee badges are white (FTEs) and keeping TVCs, whose badges are red, outside. The security guards themselves are subcontracted and wear red badges.
The training document includes a number of other common scenarios that Google employees might encounter when working with TVCs. One slide asks whether “Gary” should reward his vendor team with Google T-shirts after they complete a major task.
“Gary should not reward them with shirts,” the document explains, because “swag, bonuses, and other gifts are considered taxable income to the individual”. Instead, Gary is advised to send a thank-you email or write a positive comment on G+, the social network used internally at Google.
google training doc Recreation of part of a Google training document
Another scenario involves a Googler noticing that a TVC has listed Google as their employer on LinkedIn, illustrated with a LinkedIn profile of “Tom Temp” claiming to be a “Staffing Coordinator – Google”.
“Since TVCs are not Alphabet employees, they may not represent themselves as such on resumes or external sites (e.g. social media sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, etc),” the document states. Googlers are encouraged to either “address it with the temp directly”, report the TVC via an anonymous form, or report the TVC to their direct employer.
Other rules address paying for expenses (“their travel should not, under any circumstances, be paid for using a Gcard”), dealing with medical issues, and handling the ambitions of a TVC who wants to take professional development courses (“training beyond what they need to do their jobs is considered an employee benefit … they may not enroll in or attend soft skill or professional development trainings”).
‘It’s all about saving money’
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, speaks during the Google I/O Developers Conference in Mountain View in May. Photograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Throughout the training document, the “risk” that TVCs pose to Google is raised numerous times. The document names three types of risks: deviation from the “code of conduct”, such as concerns about harassment or discrimination; risks to security and privacy; and the risk of “co-employment”.
It is this third type of risk that earns the most attention in the document. “Co-employment is a relationship between two or more employers in which each has actual or potential legal rights and duties with respect to the same employee,” the document explains. “If found to be a joint employer of a TVC by an agency or court, then Alphabet could be liable for employer obligations, as well as acts and omissions leading to employment related legal claims.”
The legal designation of employees is a frequent issue in Silicon Valley, where the multibillion-dollar valuations of startups like Uber and Lyft rely on classifying drivers as independent contractors rather than employees.
But while Uber and Lyft have thus far been able to maintain a legal distinction between the software engineers in their corporate headquarters and the armies of drivers working in their own vehicles, there is a major precedent for a tech giant getting in trouble over the TVCs in its own offices.
Microsoft spent much of the 1990s embroiled in a dispute over its expansive use of “permatemps” who often performed similar work to Microsoft employees, but without the access to employment benefits or stock options. In 2000, Microsoft agreed to pay a $97m settlement over a massive class-action lawsuit brought by permatemps.
That settlement was estimated to cover an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 individuals, far fewer than the number of TVCs currently on Google’s books.
To Matt, this is the real reason that he was tasked with learning The ABCs of TVCs. “It’s all about saving money,” he said. “If someone sues them, they want to point at all this fake shit and say, ‘Hey look, there’s such a big difference, see?’
“We are legally in the clear to treat people like garbage.”
• Are you a tech industry TVC? Do you have experience working with TVCs? Contact the author [email protected] ||||| People walk past Google’s U.K. headquarters in London on Nov. 1, 2018. Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images
On Tuesday, April 3, an intruder walked through one of the garages on YouTube’s campus in San Bruno, California, entered an outdoor courtyard where employees were eating lunch, and shot three people before killing herself. In the days after the shooting, YouTube parent Google extended employees extra time off and allowed them to work from home so that they could process what had happened, and promised to beef up security worldwide. Google also gathered employees that week for an all-hands meeting so they could discuss what had happened—but it did not invite any of the contractors working as YouTube’s security guards, nor any other contractors or temporary employees, even though many were there when the shooting occurred, several people at the company told me.
Every day, tens of thousands of TVCs—internal lingo for temporary staffers, independent vendors, and contractors—show up for work at Google. As with so many organizations, Google’s workforce is composed of both full-time employees with benefits and workers with different arrangements, many of whom come by way of other employers. But the non-employee staff at Google is notable for its large size: Contract workers make up more than half of the company’s headcount, according to a summer report from Bloomberg. TVCs can be found at nearly every strata—in the cafeterias, on cybersecurity teams finding bugs in code, on the marketing teams for new hardware products, and in the trenches of YouTube content moderation. TVCs can be seen designing, testing, and developing new products; guarding buildings; translating; and working as policy experts.
These staffers are typically on their own for health care or use higher-cost plans through their staffing agencies, if they have health care at all. They usually have no retirement benefits and no long-term job security with Google. TVCs also appear to be a much more diverse group than Google’s full-time hires, Google workers told me, though the company said it could not confirm this and that it didn’t have the data. “Sometimes when I come into my office the only black women I see the entire day are doing service work, cleaning snack kitchens, serving food, and are security guards who stay on their feet all day,” said Meredith Whittaker, founder of Google’s Open Research Group and an organizer of the companywide worker walkout last month. “It’s so messed up. This is what structural racism looks like in practice.”
Right now, Google is being forced to reckon with employees’ discontent like it has never had to before. Yet when more than 20,000 Google workers across 50 offices walked out last month to protest how their employer handles accusations of sexual assault and harassment, some contractors weren’t sure if they would be able to join the demonstration. On an internal email list Google employees used to organize the demonstration, one full-time Google staffer noted that several TVCs at her office were told that if they joined the walkout, they’d be fired. Even some Google contractors who did participate in the walkout with permission from managers have paid a price for doing so, since, according to one contractor at Google I spoke to, “TVCs are generally paid hourly, so walking out wouldn’t have been paid.”
Many contractors did ultimately join in the protest, which worked to an extent. The day after the walkout, Google agreed to stop mandating forced arbitration in cases involving accusations of sexual harassment or assault, a policy that prevented employees from taking their grievances to court. Google also committed to allowing employees to bring a representative into meetings with human resources when reporting sexual harassment, which will likely result in more transparency and accountability for how Google addresses such issues. But these changes don’t apply to contractors. TVCs are beholden to the policies of the companies they actually work for, which have names like Randstad, Adecco Group, Securitas, and Cognizant Technology Solutions.
Organized labor is unusual in the technology industry, but Googlers’ efforts to make demands on specific issues are even further complicated by the fact that half their colleagues are not technically on staff and might not be able to enjoy the same gains. On Wednesday, the organizers of the walkout posted a letter from “Google’s shadow workforce” addressed to CEO Sundar Pichai. It’s a clear sign that two movements that up until now have been distinct—the trend in recent months of tech employees challenging the policies and practices of their employers, and a years-old effort by Silicon Valley contractors to receive fairer treatment—are starting to converge.
In the letter, the workers argue that TVCs deserve a larger chunk of the company’s massive profits. “Even when we’re doing the same work as full-time employees, these jobs routinely fail to provide living wages and often offer minimal benefits. This affects not only us, but also our families and communities,” the letter reads.
The Google walkout’s demands were crafted with input from TVCs from the start, according to Stephanie Parker, who works at YouTube and was one of the demonstration’s organizers.
One of the demands includes “a commitment to end pay and opportunity inequity” at Google, which the organizers wrote in a Medium post means information on pay gaps across gender and racial lines, as well as information on opportunities to advance at Google; they want that data to include contractor pay. Google has not agreed to this demand.
That would seem to deepen a gulf both TVCs and Google employees say is palpable at the company. If you’re a contractor, you wear a red badge around campus. “It’s definitely a caste system,” one contractor, who works on global business strategy at Google, told me, adding that there’s a sense that “if you’re good, why aren’t you just hired full-time? Like something must be wrong because you’re a TVC.” (The employee asked to be quoted anonymously for fear of reprisal.) For many, contracting at Google is a way to get a foot in the door of the company. Parker, one of the walkout organizers, is a full-time employee at YouTube with years of prior experience in the tech industry and two degrees from Stanford, but the recruiter who initially contacted her tried to pitch her on a temporary position on the recruitment team, an area where she has no experience or expertise.
At the time, Parker said, she got the impression that she would be able to one day jump to another department and should “be grateful for the opportunity” and not “expect more, ask for more, or speak up.” Parker says such sentiments make TVCs at Google reticent to voice any concerns about the workplace. “The fact is that she saw my educational and professional background and thought that I would be best suited for an entry-level contract role shows that she did not have my best interests at heart and did not take my qualifications seriously,” Parker said. “And I think it’s no coincidence that this happens to me as a black woman.”
“Sometimes when I come into my office the only black women I see the entire day are doing service work, cleaning snack kitchens, serving food, and are security guards who stay on their feet all day.” — Meredith Whittaker, an organizer of the Google walkout
Diversity has long been a problem at Google, where only 2.5 percent of the workforce identifies as black, a number that dwindles even more when isolating for the technical and leadership roles. But when it comes to contract workers, the company has been much better at recruiting diverse talent, according to multiple sources who work on a range of projects at Alphabet, from policy to marketing, product testing, and content moderation. “So why are they able to achieve higher levels of underrepresented minorities distribution in the contract roles and not in the full-time roles when they say the problem is the pipeline?” Parker asked. “That doesn’t sound right, does it?” The “pipeline problem” refers to the argument often made by tech leaders that their companies lack diverse staffs because there are too few underrepresented minorities and women with computer science backgrounds coming out of the education system. Yet, numerous reports have shown that more underrepresented minorities with computer science degrees are entering the workforce than are actually being hired at U.S. tech companies.
The high number of contractors at Google may well have to do with restrictions that are put on hiring companywide, “but that isn’t necessarily representative of the work that each team is expected to get done,” one vendor told me. “So if the team has to do more work than they have headcount to do, then either they either need to do some horse-trading with another team or hire a temp or a vendor, and then of course you totally avoid the whole interview procedure, which is notoriously long and laborious on all sides.” When the goal is to get work done quickly and cheaply, Google turns to contract labor, resulting in a system in which workers who might not make it through Google’s interview process for whatever reason are deemed good enough to work right alongside full-time employees, often in identical positions, but for less pay and fewer benefits.
Some blue-collar workers at tech companies—like security guards, janitors, and food-service workers—have organized and even unionized in recent years. Security guards started organizing across Silicon Valley in 2010, according to Huerta, and just got their contract with major tech companies, including Google, ratified this year. “The central theme of our Silicon Valley campaign is the disparity between the rich and the poor, and the amount of wealth that’s concentrated in these companies. But that wealth doesn’t come down to the service workers,” Huerta told me. “A lot of the tech workers are now finding themselves in the same situation, and I think it’s good that we find solidarity among the tech workers and the service workers, because at the end of the day, the common denominator here is the title of ‘worker.’”
So what does this mean at Google, where thus far policy changes have not applied to contractors? A spokesperson for the company stressed that TVCs should take up any issues they have with their staffing agencies or employers. But Google does have a supplier code of conduct to which all suppliers of contracted labor are “expected” to adhere. That code of conduct does not bar them from forcing employees who report sexual harassment on the job to resolve the issue through arbitration, though full-time Google employees now can forgo arbitration and take their issues to court. Nor does the code ask suppliers to provide similar benefits to the ones that Google’s full-time employees receive, as the TVC letter on Wednesday demands. What the code does show, however, is that Google could ask anything it wants of its suppliers. And it only wants so much. ||||| Invisible no longer: Google’s shadow workforce speaks up
TVCs make up more than half of Google’s workforce, and we demand fair treatment.
Google Walkout For Real Change Blocked Unblock Follow Following Dec 5, 2018
#GoogleWalkout in San Francisco, California on November 1, 2018
Dear Sundar,
As you know, 20,000 full-time and temporary, vendor, and contract workers (TVCs), recently walked out to protest “discrimination, racism, sexual harassment and a workplace culture that only works for some.” As TVCs who took equal part in the walkout, your silence has been deafening.
Google’s mission is to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible.” But the company fails to meet this standard within its own workplace. Google routinely denies TVCs access to information that is relevant to our jobs and our lives. When the tragic shooting occurred at YouTube in April of this year, the company sent real-time security updates to full-time employees only, leaving TVCs defenseless in the line of fire. TVCs were then excluded from a town hall discussion the following day. And when 20,000 full-time and TVC Google employees walked out to demand equal treatment for all workers, TVCs were again excluded from the company-wide discussion held a week later.
The exclusion of TVCs from important communications and fair treatment is part of a system of institutional racism, sexism, and discrimination. TVCs are disproportionately people from marginalized groups who are treated as less deserving of compensation, opportunities, workplace protections, and respect. We wear different badges from full-time employees, which reinforces this arbitrary and discriminatory separation. Even when we’re doing the same work as full-time employees, these jobs routinely fail to provide living wages and often offer minimal benefits. This affects not only us, but also our families and communities.
Google has been taking in record profits every quarter, with $9.2 billion in the last quarter alone. This money comes from the hard work of every single one of us, TVC and full-time alike. Google has been increasingly hiring TVCs rather than full-time employees for all types of roles, resulting in a majority TVC workforce. We do essential work, from marketing, to running engineering teams, to feeding you and the rest of the Google staff — all without fair benefits or recognition. Google cannot function without us.
The excessive and unclear rules surrounding TVCs, in addition to the constant fear of our contracts not being renewed, makes it difficult for us to speak out. However, it is clear that we will continue to be mistreated and ignored if we stay silent. Google has the power — and the money — to ensure that we are treated equitably, with respect and dignity.
As we stated during the walkout, we need transparency, accountability, and structural change to ensure equity for all Google workers. We reiterate the demands of the walkout, and make it clear that meeting these demands for all of us requires:
An end to pay and opportunity inequity for TVCs. We demand better pay and access to benefits that meet the full-time employee standard, including high-quality healthcare, paid vacations, paid sick days, holiday pay, family leave, and bonuses. This must also include a consistent and transparent conversion process to full-time employment, as well as adoption of a single badge color for all workers. Access to company-wide information on the same terms as full-time employees. We want access to town hall discussions; all communications about safety, discrimination, and sexual misconduct; and a reinstatement of our access to internal forums like Google Groups. This must also include career growth, classes, and counseling opportunities like those offered to full-time workers.
Signed,
TVCs at Google
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– Google's "shadow workforce" has been making waves recently: The tech giant's thousands of temporary employees, vendors, and contractors, known internally as TVCs, made headlines this month when they published an open letter to CEO Sundar Pichai demanding equal benefits and higher wages, plus access to the same information full-time employees get. Now, an internal training document obtained by the Guardian sheds more light on how Google treats its TVCs, a group of workers that makes up half of the company's workforce. "The ABCs of TVCs," a guide for full-time employees on how to interact with TVCs, notes that "TVC working arrangements can carry significant risks," and therefore working with such employees "is different." What types of risks? In addition to being concerned about TVCs leaking proprietary information, Google is also concerned about being found to be a joint employer, a legal designation that could cost the company a lot when it comes to benefits. So how is working with TVCs different? The document outlines issues both big (TVCs aren't allowed to represent themselves as Google employees on social media, resumes, or business cards) and small (Google employees are not allowed to reward TVCs with "swag" such as T-shirts, but can instead "send them a note on G+" expressing thanks for good work). It reveals that TVCs can't be invited to all-hands meetings or professional development training, which some full-time employees say changes the dynamic on teams including both types of employees. Read the Guardian's full report here. (So long, Google Plus.)
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Image caption There has been a rise in elephant poaching in some African countries
Poachers have used poison to kill 41 elephants in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park, an official has told the BBC.
Zimbabwe Parks spokeswoman Caroline Washaya Moyo said it was suspected that cyanide was used to poison salt pans but tests are still being carried out.
She said it was Zimbabwe's worst case of elephant poaching.
There has been a rise in the killing of elephants and rhinos in parts of Africa in recent years, mostly to feed demand for horns and tusks in Asia.
The horns and tusks are used in traditional medicine in parts of Asia, even though scientists say they have no beneficial properties.
Five of the suspected poachers have been arrested, Ms Washaya Moyo told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.
She said touching the poisoned carcasses posed a danger to any animal or human.
She said the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority had reminded people who live near the park, in western Zimbabwe, not to eat the meat of any dead animals they find.
Some poachers were found with a large haul of tusks and cyanide earlier this year.
Two years ago, nine elephants, five lions and two buffalo were poisoned. ||||| Temba Dube and Nqobile Tshili Chronicle Reporters
POLICE in Matabeleland North have smashed a six- man poaching syndicate with four of its members based in Bulawayo that allegedly poisoned and killed 41 elephants at Hwange National Park.A total of 17 tusks valued at about $120 000 were recovered. The gang would allegedly target pools frequented by elephants at the national park and use salt laced with cyanide to kill jumbos.
National police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest of brothers Sipho Mafu (53) and Misheck Mafu (46) of Thula Line in Tsholotsho, Alexander Ngwenya (42) of 7654/15 Tshabalala, Farai Chitsa (34) of A6297 Old Pumula, Nqobizitha Tshuma (25) of 14 Taylor Avenue in North End and Tinashe Senwayo (22) of 2 Hofmeyer Square also in North End.
In an interview yesterday, the officer-in-charge of Tsholotsho Police Station, Chief Inspector Muyambirwa Muzzah, said the parks game rangers patrolling near Pelandaba area in Tsholotsho which borders the national park, heard gunshots on 24 August and made a report to the police.
“They went with the police to investigate and found two elephants that had been killed and dehorned. On further investigation, inside the game park, they found rotting carcasses of dehorned elephants. There were tracks, made by three people near the animals and they followed those to the Mafu homestead,” said Chief Insp Muzzah.
He said the elder Mafu led the police to the hidden cache of 17 tusks and the police laid a trap for the rest of the gang members.
“The Mafus called Chitsa on his cellphone, which was put on loudspeaker and told him to come for the stuff as it was ready. Chitsa came to the game park with the rest of the suspects in Senwayo’s kombi and they were arrested,” said Chief Insp Muzzah.
He said as they were being escorted to Tsholotsho Police Station, the gang was injured when the kombi overturned, in a suspected dash for freedom.
He said the police suspected that Chitsa could be the mastermind of the poaching racket as he was believed to be the one who supplied the cyanide and is thought to be the one in charge of selling the tusks.
Chief Insp Muzzah said police suspected that more elephant carcasses that had not yet been discovered were in the game park.
“What they were doing is very cruel because it does not end with the death of the elephants. We have what we call the fourth generation effect due to the potency of cyanide as a poison. Animals that feed on the dead elephants will die and those that feed on the dead animals will also die.
It will go back on the food chain and hundreds of animals may end up dead,” said Insp Muzzah.
He said sentences that were given to poachers were not deterrent.
“In May we arrested some people for killing five elephants using the same modus operandi and they were each sentenced to just two years in prison. Police recovered 17 tusks weighing about 161,88 kilogrammes,” said Chief Insp Muzzah.
“Police are investigating the extent to which the syndicates were involved in the poaching of elephants at Hwange and are appealing to members of the public who might have information to approach Tsholotsho Police Station.”
Chief Insp Muzzah said 69 elephants were killed by poachers in the area between May and August.
Today police will team up with the parks officials and the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) to make an environmental impact assessment of the cyanide poisoning in the area.
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– Awful story from Zimbabwe, where poachers killed 41 elephants by poisoning their water holes, reports the Zimbabwe Chronicle. Police have arrested six men and recovered 17 tusks worth about $120,000. It's the nation's worst case of elephant poaching, reports the BBC. Tests are expected to confirm that the men put cyanide-laced salt tablets into watering holes frequented by the elephants in Hwange National Park. What's worse, animals that fed on the carcasses would likely die, too—and perhaps any creatures that fed on those carcasses as well.
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CURRITUCK — Currituck County can continue to charge non-residents a fee to park along part on the county’s Outer Banks beaches — at least for now, a Superior Court judge has ruled.
Judge Jeff Foster, of Pitt County, denied on Monday a Virginia-based group’s request for a… ||||| At Edwards Kirby, one of the most enjoyable parts of our practice is collaborating with attorneys on a case. We’ve worked with lawyers from almost every county in North Carolina and from more than 30 states across the country.
There are many advantages to associating with us. If you are an attorney who does not practice in the field of personal injury or wrongful death, or if you do practice in that area, but have a case that is particularly complex, expensive, or involves an area of law that you are unfamiliar with, we would be happy to discuss it with you to determine whether we can provide added value by co-counseling or acting as lead lawyers.
Call us today at 919-780-5400 to speak with a member of our team or click here to learn more. ||||| John Edwards is back in a courtroom — this time representing the parents of a 4-year-old Virginia boy with brain damage.
The Daily Reflector in Greenville, N.C., reports this is the first court appearance for Edwards since he was acquitted in May 2012 on one charge of accepting illegal campaign contributions to cover up his affair with campaign videographer Rielle Hunter. The jury deadlocked five other charges.
Edwards is one of three lawyers representing the boy’s parents, who are accusing Vidant Medical Center (formerly Pitt County Memorial Hospital) and an emergency room doctor of failing to make sure the child received adequate oxygen when he was 3 months old in 2009.
The Greenville newspaper reported Edwards questioned potential jurors on Tuesday.
Edwards, the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee and a former North Carolina senator, was a noted trial lawyer before entering politics.
He recently opened up a law firm, EdwardsKirby, focusing on personal injury cases and economic and social justice issues. The firm’s website notes Edwards and his partner, David Kirby, “obtained the largest personal injury verdict in North Carolina history.”
The law firm says its mission is “the justice you deserve.” Edwards’ daughter, Cate, is also an attorney at the firm.
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– John Edwards has his day job back—he's returned to court as a trial attorney, reports the Daily Reflector of Greenville, NC. Edwards is representing a Virginia family in a medical malpractice suit, and he was grilling potential jurors this week. The former senator and VP candidate was a successful trial lawyer before getting into politics, notes USA Today, and he recently opened a new firm, EdwardsKirby, that will handle cases on everything from personal injury to civil rights discrimination. Daughter Cate, an attorney herself, works at the firm. (Edwards' last high-profile court appearance ended well for him, when feds dropped their campaign finance case.)
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What Makes Jennifer Aniston Jealous? Nicole Kidman's Fab Abs
Email This cultivates an easygoing, no-worries persona that might be summed up by the name of her latest rom-com, 'Just Go With It.' But that doesn't mean she isn't starstruck by certain Hollywood hard bodies.
On Friday, her 42nd birthday, the famously fit actress called into
Aniston said, "I walked up to [Kidman] and I said, 'I'm sorry, can I touch them? I have to touch them....Is that spray-painted? What is that?' I think it's an eight-pack." Jennifer Aniston cultivates an easygoing, no-worries persona that might be summed up by the name of her latest rom-com, 'Just Go With It.' But that doesn't mean she isn't starstruck by certain Hollywood hard bodies.On Friday, her 42nd birthday, the famously fit actress called into Ryan Seacrest's radio show and claimed that her own six-pack can't compete with the enviable midriff of Nicole Kidman. The two compared abs when Kidman visited the 'Just Go With It' set to film a cameo.Aniston said, "I walked up to [Kidman] and I said, 'I'm sorry, can I touch them? I have to touch them....Is that spray-painted? What is that?' I think it's an eight-pack."
http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=832877&pid=832876&uts=1286548961 http://www.popeater.com/mm_track/popeater/music/?s_channel=us.musicpop&s_account=aolpopeater,aolsvc&omni=1&ke=1 http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swf Stars Working Out Kellan Lutz leaves the gym looking ripped on September 30th. X17online X17online Celebrities Working Out
Kidman, 43, shared yoga tips with Aniston on the Hawaiian set last year (Kidman was actually born in Hawaii before her family emigrated to Australia). And in 2011, she's surely been aiming to look her best on the red carpets this season: An Academy Award winner for 2002's 'The Hours,' new mom Kidman is nominated for another Best Actress Oscar this month, thanks to her performance in the searing drama 'Rabbit Hole,' which she also produced. ||||| Date 7 hrs ago 1:03
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Kim Kardashain And Sisters Kendall And Kylie Jenner Pick Up A Teen Choice Award
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Description: What do you get a 17 year old that has everything? A Teen choice Awards Surfboard of course! That's what Kylie Jenner got anyway. After celebrating her birthday with friends and family the brunette beauty and her sisters Kendall Jenner and Kim Kardashian...
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– Nicole Kidman “desperately” wanted another baby, she told Australia's 60 Minutes last night. “Anyone that's been in the place of wanting another child, or wanting a child, knows the disappointment, the pain and the loss that you go through trying and struggling with fertility … I couldn't get pregnant,” she said, explaining why she and husband Keith Urban chose to have daughter Faith via a gestational carrier. "She was the most wonderful woman to do this for us. ... I'm so grateful to her,” said Kidman of their carrier. The actress was in the room for Faith’s birth, and said it was a “deeply emotional and moving” moment. (Click to read why Jennifer Aniston is jealous of Nicole Kidman.)
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The unborn daughter of Tony Award-winning actress Ruthie Ann Miles died due to injuries suffered in a horrific Brooklyn crash that also killed two other kids, the mom’s lawyer said Wednesday.
The actress was about 30 weeks pregnant when she was among those hit by a car driven by Staten Island motorist Dorothy Bruns, who plowed through a Park Slope crosswalk March 5.
Miles’ 4-year-old daughter, Abigail Blumenstein, and another child — 20-month-old Joshua Lew — were killed that day.
This past Friday, Miles’ unborn baby, Sophia Rosemary Wong Blumenstein, became yet another victim when she died from injuries, said the family’s lawyer, Ben Rubinowitz.
“As many of you know, Ruthie and Jonathan’s daughter, Abigail, was tragically killed. At the time of the crash Ruthie was pregnant and was severely injured,” Rubinowitz said in a statement.
“This past Friday Ruthie and Jonathan lost their baby, Sophia Rosemary Wong Blumenstein,” Rubinowitz said. “The pain suffered by Ruthie and Jonathan is nearly impossible to fathom.
“As you might imagine, they are overwhelmed by the sadness of the deaths of their children. Ruthie and Jonathan are grateful for the support of their family and friends but wish and ask that their privacy be respected during this most trying time. Ruthie and Jonathan continue to seek God’s presence, mercy and peace.”
Miles won a Tony in 2015 for her work in “The King and I.”
Bruns has been charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, reckless endangerment, assault, and reckless driving.
She faces up to 15 years behind bars if convicted on all charges. ||||| NEW YORK -- A woman who had a seizure behind the wheel of her car which then rolled into a Brooklyn crosswalk, killing the 4-year-old daughter of a Tony Award-winning actress and a 1-year-old boy, was arrested on manslaughter charges Thursday for deaths that prosecutors said should never have happened.
Just two months before the March crash, prosecutors said, a medical episode caused the woman, 44-year-old Dorothy Bruns, to drive into a parked car. She then had a seizure while hospitalized and was told by a doctor not to drive for one year -- advice that was repeated during two follow-up appointments.
Despite those instructions, Bruns was involved in a fender bender on Jan. 20 and left the scene, according to prosecutors.
And then, on March 5, Bruns suffered another seizure while stopped at a red light in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Her car rolled into the crosswalk, striking actress Ruthie Ann Blumenstein and her 4-year-old daughter, Abigail, and Lauren Lew and her 1-year-old son, Joshua. Both children were killed.
"She didn't listen, for whatever selfish reasons, and she continued to drive," prosecutor Craig Esswein said Thursday in court. "And unfortunately, two families lost children because of the defendant's selfishness."
A defense attorney, however, disputed that, according to CBS New York.
"The defendant was given a letter by that neurologist clearing her for her regular activities," defense attorney David Jacobs said in court Thursday.
Horrifying video footage captured at the scene of the deadly crash shows the white car moving into the crosswalk as the unsuspecting pedestrians are mowed down.
Bruns was arrested Thursday at her Staten Island home. She pleaded not guilty in a Brooklyn court to charges that included manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and reckless driving.
A call to Bruns' attorney wasn't immediately returned. She was ordered held on $75,000 bond and faces 15 years in prison if convicted on the top charge.
"Her alleged insistence on driving despite doctor's orders and serious medical conditions that prevented her from safely doing so was not only irresponsible, it was unlawful," said District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said.
First-responders to the Brooklyn crash said she was foaming at the mouth, confused and unsteady on her feet, and then suffered another seizure in the ambulance on her way to the hospital and again at the hospital, prosecutors said.
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Blumenstein, who is pregnant, was hospitalized in intensive care but later said in a statement that she was healing.
"By all accounts it is a miracle our second child is unharmed," the statement read. "Please continue to pray for the Lew and Blumenstein families as we process the unthinkable."
Blumenstein, who goes by the stage name Ruthie Ann Miles, won a featured actress Tony in 2015 for her role as Lady Thiang in a revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The King and I." It marked her Broadway debut. Blumenstein's other credits included "Sunday in the Park with George" opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and playing Imelda Marcos in David Byrne's off-Broadway musical "Here Lies Love." She had a recurring role on the FX series "The Americans."
The crash prompted New York Mayor Bill de Blasio to propose changes to state laws that would extend and expand speed enforcement cameras around school zones, escalate fines for repeat offenders up to $350, and strip vehicle registration for dangerous drivers. Such drivers could be people with serious medical conditions. ||||| Broadway star Ruthie Ann Miles is grieving the devastating loss of her unborn child, just two months after the death of her 4-year-old daughter Abigail in a tragic car crash.
“Ruthie is simply not doing well. The only consolation she had in Abigail’s death was the fact that her unborn baby had survived. But now losing that baby? She’s crushed to her core,” a friend close to Miles tells PEOPLE.
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“She loved being a mom. She couldn’t wait to expand her family. Losing those kids, it’s destroyed her. How can she even survive this? It’s taking every bit of her faith to find a way through,” the friend says.
Miles’ family lawyer, Ben Rubinowitz, announced on Wednesday that Ruthie and husband Jonathan Blumenstein’s unborn child, Sophia Rosemary Wong Blumenstein, died on May 11. Their baby girl, whom Ruthie was seven months pregnant with at the time of the crash, was due this month.
Ruthie Ann Miles and daughter Abigail in February 2017 Walter McBride/WireImage
“Ruthie and Jonathan started telling their close friends last week about the loss. They wanted them to hear about it first but kept the circle small as they’re not yet comfortable talking about it and still want privacy. To say that Ruthie is devastated would be an understatement,” the friend shares.
Miles, who won a Tony Award for best featured actress in a musical for her role in the 2015 revival of The King and I, was one of three non-fatal victims of the New York City collision that occurred in March.
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Police confirmed that Abigail, who was pronounced dead upon arrival at Methodist Hospital, was one of two children hit and killed by a vehicle that was allegedly running a red light.
Ruthie Ann Miles Janette Pellegrini/FilmMagic
“Everyone in her life is rallying around Ruthie, as we have since the accident, but both she and Jonathan are really holding one another up through this. They’re deep in the grieving process,” another friend of Miles tells PEOPLE.
“They have a very strong bond, and that’s the one thing that hasn’t broken at all. If anyone will forge this path, it’s them. It’s just so sad, though. She’s going through unspeakable pain. You talk to her and you can just hear it in her voice — a part of her soul is gone.”
Prior to Abigail’s death, a source previously told PEOPLE that she “was excited to be a big sister.”
“She was the brightest little spirit,” said the source. “Every time you were around her, your heart couldn’t help but shine. She had the sweetest laugh and the loveliest personality. She was very much like her mother.”
Ruthie Ann Miles Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty
Earlier this month, a Brooklyn grand jury indicted Dorothy Bruns, the 44-year-old Staten Island driver involved in the fatal crash.
A prosecution source previously told PEOPLE that Bruns was arraigned on charges of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault stemming from the crash. Bruns’ lawyer entered a not guilty plea on her behalf.
Police sources also told PEOPLE in March that Bruns allegedly told investigators she experienced a seizure at the time of the crash. Detectives are attempting to confirm this claim with medical officials, a source said.
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– What kept Ruthie Ann Miles going after her 4-year-old daughter, Abigail, was killed when a car crashed into them in March in Brooklyn was her unborn baby, due this month. Now another tragedy for the Broadway star and her husband, Jonathan Blumenstein, delivered via their lawyer. "This past Friday, Ruthie and Jonathan lost their baby, Sophia Rosemary Wong Blumenstein," Ben Rubinowitz said in a statement, per the New York Post. "The pain suffered by Ruthie and Jonathan is nearly impossible to fathom." A friend said to be close to Miles confirms the devastation to People: "Ruthie is simply not doing well. The only consolation she had in Abigail's death was the fact that her unborn baby had survived. But now losing that baby? She's crushed to her core." That friend says the Tony Award-winning actress and Blumenstein started letting those closest to them know about Sophia's death last week. "Losing those kids [has] destroyed her," the friend notes. "How can she even survive this? It's taking every bit of her faith to find a way through." Abigail and 20-month-old Joshua Lew were killed on March 5 after a car driven by Dorothy Bruns drove through a crosswalk and hit the pedestrians. Bruns, 44, has been charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and assault and could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors say she'd had a history of seizures and was said to have had one while driving the car—after doctors, in the months leading up to the crash, had told her repeatedly not to drive, per CBS News.
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Death at a Funeral
April 14, 2010
Oh, I know a lot of "Death at a Funeral" is in very bad taste. That's when I laughed the most. I don't laugh at movies where the characters are deliberately being vulgar. But when they desperately don't want to be--now that's funny. Consider the scene when Uncle Russell eats too much nut cake and is seized by diarrhea. And Norman wrestles him off his wheelchair and onto the potty, and gets his hand stuck underneath. Reader, I laughed. I'm not saying I'm proud of myself. That's not the way I was raised. But I laughed.
I laughed all the way through, in fact. This is the best comedy since "The Hangover," and although it's almost a scene-by-scene remake of a 2007 British movie with the same title, it's funnier than the original. For the character of Frank, the mysterious guest who wants to speak privately with the dead man's sons, it even uses the same actor, Peter Dinklage, and he's funnier this time. Maybe that's because when a comedy gets on a roll, everything is funnier.
The funeral is taking place at home, because that's how the deceased wanted it. Also living at home are his oldest son Aaron (Chris Rock), Aaron's wife Michelle (Regina Hall), and his mother Cynthia (Loretta Devine). Both Michelle and Cynthia are on his case for having not yet fathered a child. Aaron dreams of publishing a novel, while his younger brother Ryan (Martin Lawrence) has published several, which sound like porn to me, but hey, they're in print.
The mourners arrive after various adventures of the cadaver, and get into all sorts of bizarre and dire trouble in ways that the screenplay carefully explains. How was Elaine (Zoe Saldana) to know that a bottle labeled "Valium" contained a next generation hallucinogen when she gave one to her boyfriend Oscar (James Marsden)? It's an old gag, the guy accidentally freaked out on drugs, but Marsden elevates it to bizarre heights with a rubber face that reflects horror, delight, nausea and affection more or less simultaneously.
There's no use in my providing a blow by blow of the plot, since it's deliriously screwball and it doesn't much matter what happens, as long as something always is. But I can mention what deft timing and high energy this cast has, each actor finding the rhythm for each character instead of all racing about in manic goofiness. Dinklage, for example, is as good at playing dead serious as Tommy Lee Jones, and here he's always on tone for a man who has come for compelling personal reasons. The brothers and Norman don't really wish harm to befall him, but you can see how it does. Then there is a certain logic to how they react. They're only human.
Loretta Devine has a possibly thankless role as the surviving matriarch, but her timing is delicious as she associates the death of a husband with the absence of a grandchild. Both Regina Hall and Zoe Saldana are steadfast in their love in the midst of chaos, and Danny Glover goes over the top as the cantankerous uncle because, well, that's what the role requires.
British actors are rightly known for their skill, and there were some good ones in the 2007 version of the same Dean Craig screenplay. But playing proper upper-crust characters tends to restrain them. The family in "Death at Funeral" is obviously wealthy, but loose--more human. Their emotions are closer to the surface, and these actors work together like a stock company.
Notice too, the way director Neil LaBute directs traffic. Because the action is screwball doesn't mean it can be confusing. Screwball depends crucially on us knowing where key characters are, and why. LaBute juggles parallel actions in the big family home so we understand who's in the bathroom and who's in the living room and why everybody is out on the lawn. There's a smooth logic to it that works like spatial punchlines.
LaBute is a brilliant playwright and director who is usually the director of very dark comedies ("In the Company of Men," "Your Friends and Neighbors"). But a good director is a good director, and LaBute here, like David Gordon Green with "Pineapple Express," masters the form. And oooh, that's a mean line about R. Kelly. ||||| You can get away with almost anything in a farce except failing to be funny, and that's what kills "Death at a Funeral." It isn't the crudity or broadness of the humor that does it in, but a simple lack of comic chops in the writing.
Consider that one of the main running gags is that a character has unknowingly ingested a powerful hallucinogen, and spends most of the movie mugging, making stupid comments and standing naked on the roof of a house where a funeral is taking place.
The movie's MO is taking an unfunny joke - like its big scatological gross-out scene - and beating it to death. One guy whacked out on drugs isn't enough, so the movie offers a second, a gay blackmailer who's played for laughs.
"Death at a Funeral" is a remake of a 2007 British movie of the same title, a black comedy about shenanigans erupting at the funeral of a family patriarch. This version, directed by Neil LaBute, of all people, is relocated to Southern California and given a racially mixed cast.
An oddball assortment of family and friends gathers for the funeral at the home of the deceased man's eldest son, played by Chris Rock in a somewhat subdued version of his crabby persona. The plot is simple: The funeral keeps getting delayed by outrageous incidents.
Involved in those incidents are Martin Lawrence as the Rock character's brother, Tracy Morgan as a hapless nitwit, Danny Glover as the dead man's splenetic brother, Luke Wilson as a family friend and Peter Dinklage (who played the same role in the original film) as a most unwelcome guest.
James Marsden plays the naked guy tripping on acid, and I bet he'll rue the day he accepted the role. There are wife and girlfriend roles for Regina Hall and Zoe Saldana.
There's a lot of talent here, but not much to show for it.
Detailing the story is useless - the whole idea is to lance the solemnity of funerals with lots of comic mayhem, but the humor is rote, lurching from nasty to sitcommy. Toward the end, things take a jarringly sentimental turn when Rock delivers a eulogy, but then the film reverts to dumb-gag mode.
I think I forgot to mention that there's also jailbait humor.
LaBute, a specialist in edgy material, has done some interesting work ("In the Company of Men," "Nurse Betty"). But he hit a low point with his 2006 "The Wicker Man" remake, and certainly hasn't redeemed himself here.
Advisory: Language, drug content and sexual humor.
This article appeared on page E - 5 of the San Francisco Chronicle ||||| “Death at a Funeral’’ is proof that a well-made screenplay is indestructible. A nearly shot-for-shot remake of the 2006 British comedy about a family gathering that spirals blissfully from one disaster to the next, the new version is completely unnecessary and sloppier than it should be. It’s also still funny, partly thanks to smart casting in a few key roles ... (Full article: 517 words)
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– Critics are decidedly split on Death at a Funeral, Chris Rock’s remake of a British farce that’s a scant 3 years old. Here’s what they’re saying: “Death at a Funeral is proof that a well-made screenplay is indestructible,” writes Ty Burr of the Boston Globe. It’s sloppily directed, and Rock is miscast, yet it’s still funny, because “the sight of a raging, drug-addled dwarf rising from a coffin is a comedy gift that keeps on giving.” It was a raunchy movie in poor taste, and Roger Ebert loved it, he writes in the Chicago Sun-Times. “I don't laugh at movies where the characters are deliberately being vulgar. But when they desperately don't want to be—now that's funny.” But Justin Chang of Variety found it “a strained, mirthless remake of a comedy that wasn't terribly funny to begin with.” Its producer seems to believe that “outrageous situations, presented with minimal flair, preparation or timing, will yield automatic hilarity.” “The movie's MO is taking an unfunny joke—like its big scatological gross-out scene—and beating it to death,” agrees Walter Addiego of the San Francisco Chronicle . “There's a lot of talent here, but not much to show for it.”
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A French mountaineer rescued from Pakistan’s “Killer Mountain” has described how she was forced to abandon her weak climbing partner, descend alone in darkness and wait more than 24 hours for help while suffering altitude-induced hallucinations that made her take a shoe off in freezing conditions.
Elisabeth Revol, 37, returned to France after she was rescued on Sunday from Nanga Parbat, the world’s ninth-highest peak at 8,126 metres. She is being treated in a hospital in the Haute-Savoie region, where doctors are assessing whether she will require amputations because of frostbite in her hands and left foot.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse she recalled how rescuers urged her to leave her weak and bleeding fellow climber, the Polish mountaineer Tomek Mackiewicz, behind – something she said was “terrible and painful” to do. Rescuers were unable to reach Mackiewicz, a father of three, who had made six previous winter attempts to scale Nanga Parbat. There is almost no chance of him being found alive.
Revol was the first woman to scale the mountain in winter without oxygen or a sherpa. She told AFP: “We had hardly a second at the top. We had to rush to get down.”
Mackiewicz, who hadn’t worn a mask, said he could no longer see and by nightfall he had developed an eye inflammation. With him clinging to her shoulders, Revol began the hazardous descent in darkness. “At one point, he couldn’t breathe,” she told AFP. “He took off the protection he had in front of his mouth and he began to freeze. His nose became white and then his hands, his feet.”
They huddled overnight in a crevasse, but Mackiewicz’s condition was worsening. Revol said he had “blood streaming from his mouth”, a sign of a build up of fluid in the body, the ultimate stage of acute mountain sickness. She had sent several messages for help, and rescuers told her to descend to 6,000 metres. She said to Mackiewicz: “Listen, the helicopter will arrive late afternoon. I must go down, they’ll come to get you.”
Further down the mountain, when rescuers didn’t arrive, she spent another night sheltering in a crevasse. This time she had no tent or duvet, which she had left behind, but she was more worried for Mackiewicz.
“I had hallucinations during the night. I imagined that people were bringing me hot tea. A woman asked me if in return she could take my shoe. At that moment I automatically got up, took off my shoe and gave it to her. In the morning when I woke up I was only in my sock.”
Her shoe was nowhere to be seen. She had been without it for five hours and developed severe frostbite.
She heard helicopters but rescuers couldn’t land because of the wind. Facing what she feared was a third night in the open, she began to make a final descent, with wet gloves and frozen feet. She managed to reach one of the camps at around 3am, where she was found by elite rescue mountaineers who had been climbing in the dark to reach her in a hazardous operation.
Asked if she would ever climb again, she told AFP: “I think I will. I need this.” ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Elisabeth Revol describes her rescue from Nanga Parbat
A French mountaineer has described how she was forced to abandon her weak and ailing climbing partner in order to be rescued from one of Pakistan's most deadly Himalayan mountains.
Elisabeth Revol told AFP news agency that Polish climber Tomasz Mackiewicz's health worsened as they descended Nanga Parbat, nicknamed "Killer Mountain".
Only she was rescued by an elite Polish climbing team in a dramatic operation.
Doctors in France are now assessing whether she will require amputations.
Rescuers could not reach Mr Mackiewicz and it is thought unlikely he could have survived.
Among her recollections, Ms Revol said that altitude-induced hallucinations had caused her to take a shoe off in freezing conditions.
'Blood streaming from mouth'
The pair began climbing on 20 January, and within a few days were approaching the summit.
But shortly after they reached the peak of the 8,120m (26,640ft) mountain, Mr Mackiewicz complained that he could not see.
Ms Revol told AFP: "He hadn't used a mask because it was a bit hazy during the day and by nightfall he had ophthalmia [an inflammation of the eye]."
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Rescuers could not reach Polish climber Tomasz Mackiewicz
He then clung to her shoulders as they began the difficult descent in darkness. Mr Mackiewicz, she said, began to have trouble breathing.
"He took off the protection he had in front of his mouth and he began to freeze. His nose became white and then his hands, his feet."
They huddled overnight in a crevasse but his condition deteriorated further with "blood streaming from his mouth" - a sign of a build up of fluid in the body, the ultimate stage of acute altitude sickness.
Barefoot after hallucinations
She sent several messages for help and was told by rescuers to go down to 6,000m. She then left Mr Mackiewicz behind. "It wasn't a decision I made, it was imposed on me," she said.
Thinking that help would arrive quickly, Ms Revol left without carrying a tent or a duvet. When rescuers did not turn up, she was forced to spend another night in a crevasse.
Image copyright Adam Bielecki/Reuters Image caption Ms Revol (centre) at the base of the Nanga Parbat after her rescue
In the interview, she described having altitude-induced hallucinations. She imagined that people were bringing her hot tea, and that in order to thank them, she had to give them her shoe.
After being barefoot for five hours, Ms Revol developed frostbite.
Image copyright AFP Image caption An elite Polish climbing team took part in the rescue operation
She heard helicopters but, because of the strong winds, they could not reach her. Fearing that she would have to spend another night there, Ms Revol began a final descent, with wet gloves and frozen feet, and managed to reach one of the rescue teams.
She was flown to hospital in Islamabad and then on to Switzerland, before being transported across the French border.
Doctors in the Haute-Savoie region of eastern France are now assessing whether she will require amputations to her hands and left foot due to frostbite.
Despite the ordeal, she has not ruled out climbing again, saying: "I need this."
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– French climber Elisabeth Revol says that as she sheltered in a crevasse on Pakistan's "Killer Mountain," she thought people were bringing her hot tea—and she felt obliged to give them one of her shoes in return. In reality, she was alone, suffering altitude-induced hallucinations as she waited for a rescue team. Revol, who was brought down in a dramatic rescue effort Sunday, says she managed to reach the peak of 26,660-foot Nanga Parbat with climbing partner Tomasz Mackiewicz, but after they called for help, rescuers urged her to descend alone, Guardian reports. She says it was "terrible and painful" to leave Mackiewicz, who was weak, couldn't see, and was bleeding from the mouth because of acute mountain sickness. Revol, who is now recovering in a French hospital, tells AFP that she thought help would arrive quickly after she followed instructions to descend to around 20,000 feet, but she ended up spending a night sheltering with no tent or duvet in a crevasse, where she had the hallucinations—and woke up missing her left shoe. After hearing helicopters, she descended further, despite frozen feet, and met a Polish rescue team. They were unable to reach Mackiewicz, who is believed to have died on the mountain. Doctors say Revol, 37, might require amputations to her hands and left foot because of frostbite, the BBC reports. But when asked if she would ever climb again, Revol said: "I think I will. I need this." (Two climbers were lost on Nanga Parbat, the world's ninth-highest mountain, last year.)
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A judge has awarded a North Carolina man nearly $9 million from a man who had an affair with his wife.
Keith King, 48, who runs BMX Stunt Shows sued his wife's lover and was just awarded $8.8 million from the judge after citing an obscure law.
"To me that was the most important thing, the most sacred thing — my family," he said. "Every time he knew I was out of town, he would come into town."
North Carolina is one of only six states that allows a jilted spouse to sue for "alienation of affection."
King claimed his marriage to his wife Danielle, 33, was in great shape until his her boyfriend came along and ruined everything.
The husband said he found out his wife was cheating on him with Francisco Huizar in 2015 after viewing phone records.
"I called him from her phone and I said, 'She's a married woman, leave her alone. Don't you ever contact her again,'" King told Inside Edition.
He says the affair continued for months in secret. Then last year, she moved out of their home. Soon after, he went to her new apartment and was shocked to find the lover there.
"She’s my wife man — she’s my wife!" King says in footage of the confrontation.
"I felt like I just witnessed her die," he said of confronting her lover.
Danielle claims King was a control freak who made her dye her hair blonde and work without pay, but he calls her claims "100 percent false."
King says he considers the $8.8 million dollar award to be a hollow victory because he’d give anything to have his old life back.
"There isn't a dollar amount that you can put on it for what I think my family's worth," he said.
Huizar says he plans to appeal.
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Brad Pitt Blames Himself for Angelina Divorce in New Interview: 'I Was Boozing Too Much' ||||| Published on Jul 30, 2018
It was a harrowing confrontation between a man, his wife and her lover. Forty-eight-year old Keith King is seen confronting the man his wife is now seeing, shouting, “That is my wife, man! Why are you taking my wife?” The bitter love triangle is making headlines around the world. King recently sued the other man, and has been awarded nearly $9 million. He says the award is a hollow victory, and that he’d give anything to have his old life back. ||||| Sign in using you account with: {* loginWidget *}
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– Keith King says no amount of money could make up for his busted marriage. Nonetheless, a North Carolina judge has ordered his wife's lover to pay him $8.8 million. The decision revolves around an obscure law on the books in six states called "alienation of affection," reports WSOC. In this case, the 48-year-old King claims he was in a happy marriage with 33-year-old Danielle, whom he wed in 2010, until she began an affair with a man she met on a business trip, reports WRAL and Inside Edition. "I've compared it to like a nuclear bomb going on around my surroundings," says King, who first got wind of the affair thanks to phone records. That led to a confrontation between King and Francisco Huizar that was recorded, followed by King learning that he could actually sue his romantic rival over all this. "My marriage was murdered," says King. Last week, a Durham County judge agreed, ordering Huizar to pay $2.2 million in compensatory damages and $6.6 million in punitive damages. The result is unusual, with most of the 200 alienation of affection claims filed in North Carolina each year settled out of court. But this was "a very classic case that just happened to have all of the factors," King's attorney tells WRAL. Still, some argue there should be no alienation of affection law at all as it's based on the outdated view that a married woman is her husband's property. It's "archaic … and should be stricken," says Huizar's lawyer, who claims King was controlling of his unhappy wife. "Verdicts like these … remove personal responsibility for a person's own marriage." Huizar plans to appeal. (A controversial entertainer is familiar with this kind of mess.)
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Playboy Model Katie May Suffers Stroke ... In Critical Condition
Playboy Model Katie May Suffers Stroke ... In Critical Condition
EXCLUSIVE
Katie May, a hugely popular Playboy model and social media sensation, suffered a "catastrophic" stroke ... according to her family.
May, known as MsKatieMay on the Internet, is hospitalized in critical condition after suffering the stroke Monday in Los Angeles. We're told she'd recently complained of neck pain and sought treatment. Her family tells us the devastating stroke was caused by a blockage in her carotid artery.
There have been rampant rumors on the Internet that Katie died. People have been posting R.I.P. across all her social media sites. She's only in her mid 30s, so the stroke is especially shocking.
Known as the "Queen of Snapchat" ... she's modeled for Playboy and Sports Illustrated. She has almost 2 million followers on Instagram alone.
Katie has a 7-year-old daughter, and the family has started a gofundme page to support the little girl. We don't know Katie's prognosis yet, but it seems grim.
She captioned her last IG post, "Hope everyone is having a great Monday! It's very windy here today in LA." ||||| 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.
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– A Playboy model and social media sensation known as the "Queen of Snapchat" has died at age 34, TMZ reports. Katie May, who also modeled for dozens of other websites and magazines including Sports Illustrated and who had nearly 2 million followers on Instagram, had recently sought treatment for neck pain, her family told TMZ. On Monday, she was hospitalized after suffering a stroke in LA caused by a blockage in her carotid artery. She never recovered, and was taken off life support Thursday night. Her family has set up a GoFundMe campaign to support the 7-year-old daughter May leaves behind.
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Ted Cruz is not known for being a smooth or funny guy.
His children seem repulsed by his very existence, he bashed his own wife in the face when he dropped out of the presidential race, and then there is that whole Zodiac killer thing.
While most of America loves to hate on Cruz, he did just make a really great joke on Twitter, and it deserves a little recognition. We're not completely convinced that Cruz himself sent the tweet, but whoever runs his Twitter account deserves a raise for this one.
It all started when senators Ben Sasse and Chuck Schumer were caught in a candid moment on Thursday outside of the U.S. Capitol. Sasse is wearing gym shorts, and Schumer looks like he woke up late for work on Monday after going on a bender all weekend. Sasse tweeted the photo, saying it looked like the two were smoking weed outside of a wedding.
holy moly - it looks like @SenSchumer and I are smoking reefer outside a wedding...
pic.twitter.com/gUucsKYvmm — Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) May 18, 2017
Well that escalated quickly. https://t.co/uUzlZktBoG — Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) May 18, 2017
I thought we were off the record https://t.co/GRcEX6SOQp — Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) May 18, 2017
The photo made the rounds, and the Washington Free Beacon tweeted it, asking its followers to play in a caption contest. That's when Cruz (or his social media guru) swooped in with the very relevant #viralcontent.
"So anyway, it’s a romper for guys and it’s called the RompHim and I just ordered two." https://t.co/6BNDNZRqrb — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 18, 2017
If you haven't been online this week, a Kickstarter campaign for male rompers, called the RompHim, went viral. Basically, Cruz dissed Schumer by saying he would be the type of dude to wear a RompHim.
Just another day in U.S. politics in 2017. ||||| Tom Cotton, Ben Sasse, and Chuck Schumer. Ben Sasse/Twitter/Getty Images Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska tweeted out a photo of him with two fellow senators that is quickly going viral, joking that it looks as if they're smoking marijuana outside of a wedding.
The photo featured Sasse, in basketball shorts and a t-shirt, sitting near the US Capitol chatting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, who sported an unbuttoned shirt with his tie undone and his hair blowing in the wind, and GOP Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, still in his full suit.
"Holy moly," Sasse tweeted. "It looks like @SenSchumer and I are smoking reefer outside a wedding..."
Schumer responded shortly after, saying "well that escalated quickly," taking a line from Will Ferrell's early 2000s comedy "Anchorman."
The Twitter account @darth edited the photo to show Schumer actually holding a "joint" — a marijuana cigarette.
"I thought we were off the record," Sasse tweeted.
Here are the tweets:
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– A caption contest on Twitter this week ended up pulling in Ted Cruz, Chuck Schumer, and a romper for men that's inexplicably all the rage. Mashable reports on a photo tweeted out Thursday by the Washington Free Beacon that showed a somewhat disheveled-looking Schumer chatting with Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse (who looked like he just came from the gym) outside the US Capitol. The paper asked viewers to come up with their own caption, and Sasse was one of the first to acknowledge the odd candid, noting the pic looks like he and Schumer were "smoking reefer outside a wedding." Schumer replied with a "well that escalated quickly" (a line from Anchorman, Business Insider helpfully notes), right before the memes started proliferating. That's when Cruz must have started feeling left out of the senatorial snarkfest. "So anyway, it's a romper for guys and it's called the RompHim and I just ordered two," Cruz (or whoever runs his Twitter account) tweeted, referencing the "fashion revolution" that's been circulating online this week. Mashable concedes the joke was "really great," while one commenter pointed out a peripheral subject in the photo: a "creepy" face-like object in one of the building's windows. "Spicy in a Michael Myers mask," riffed another. (In other joke news, Conan O'Brien is accused of stealing these three jokes.)
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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 Soup is nearing The End. E! said this morning its weekly series skewering pop culture will bow out on December 18, ending the franchise’s 22-year run.
The show premiered in 1991 as Talk Soup and famously launched the career of original host Greg Kinnear, who hosted until 1995. He was followed by John Henson (1995-99), Hal Sparks (1999-2000) and Aisha Tyler (2001-02). It was re-launched as The Soup in 2004 with current host Joel McHale. The series earned a 2014 Emmy nom for Outstanding Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Program’
This morning’s announcement comes a year after E! announced it extended its deal with McHale through 2016 to remain at the helm of the comedy show. That deal also called for McHale’s production company, Free Period Productions to continue its production development arrangement giving the network first-look rights to non-scripted series. That pact marked the first major talent deal to close under new E! programming chief Jeff Olde, who called McHale “a valued fixture at the network for both his industry know-how and comic relief.” At the time of that announcement, McHale quipped, “I’m confident that I can keep up the same quality of humorous observation of shows like Naked Dating and Bad Girls Club Season 12 Reunion Part 2 that the American people age 18-49 have come to expect and deserve.”
In today’s news, E! said the show would continue in originals until its December 18 finale, while noting that, over its 22-year history, Talk Soup and The Soup have welcomed such celebrated actors and singers, as well as incredibly desperate X-listers:
Stars and “stars” that have stopped by include Norman Reedus, Yvette Nicole Brown, Patrick Warburton, Alison Brie, Seth Green, Lucy Lawless, Chris Hardwick, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ken Jeong, RuPaul, Steven Yeun, Joe Manganiello, Wendy Williams, Simon Pegg, Jon Cryer, Joe Jonas, Kal Penn, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Adam Scott, Aaron Paul, Gabourey Sidibe, Larry King, Kelly Ripa, Allison Janney, Adam DeVine, Johnny Weir, Danny Trejo, Jeff Probst, James Corden, Adam Pally, Jane Lynch, Marilyn Manson, Jon Heder, Tyra Banks, Martha Stewart, Nene Leaks, Nancy Grace, Zachary Quinto, George Takei, Chevy Chase, Sean Combs, Evan Rachel Wood, Eminem, Demi Lovato, Sarah Hyland, Jake Pavelka, Katey Sagal, Mayim Bialik, Katie Lee Gifford, Ana Gasteyer, Tyrese Gibson, Anderson Cooper, Andy Cohen, Kylie Minogue, Kristin Davis, Shaquille O’Neal, Joan Rivers, Jack Black, Eli Roth, Busy Philipps, Jaime Pressly, Lea DeLaria, WWE Superstar The Miz … and Carrot Top.
The network did not detail plans for the series finale; The Soup is produced by Wilshire Studios with McHale, KP Anderson and Ed Boyd serving as executive producers.
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– Dec. 18 will be your last chance to talk about chicks, man. That's because E! announced Wednesday it's ending venerable network stalwart The Soup after 22 years, Deadline reports. The show—which started life as Talk Soup—launched the career of first host, Greg Kinnear. After hosting stints from John Henson, Hal Sparks, and Aisha Tyler, Joel McHale took over green-screen duties, making fun of reality shows, celebrities, and pop culture for the past 12 years, according to the Los Angeles Times. "We are incredibly proud of the long-running success of The Soup," E! executive Jeff Olde said in a statement. "The Soup has delivered countless laughs and unforgettable episodes, and we are grateful to the talented team’s fearless wit and clever approach week after week." So meaty.
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A masked man walked into the store and currency exchange about 7 p.m. Saturday on the city's southwest side, displayed a handgun and announced a robbery to an employee, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. The gunman then pointed his weapon at another employee and forced her to the back of the store.
The armed customer then fatally shot the man, identified Sunday by the Cook County medical examiner's office as 55-year-old Reginald Gildersleeve. Other details about Gildersleeve weren't released.
No one else was hurt during the incident. It wasn't immediately clear whether the customer, who has not been identified, will face charges. Guglielmi said preliminary details suggest the customer was not at fault, but that the case was under review by local prosecutors.
"We're looking at it as a self-defense issue at this point," he said.
Last month, a Michigan woman with a concealed carry license shot at shoplifters fleeing a Detroit-area Home Depot store, flattening a tire of their SUV. No one was hurt, and the suspected shoplifters were arrested several days later. The woman faces up to 90 days in jail after pleading no contest to a charge of reckless discharge of a firearm. Two other shootings in which citizens fired at lawbreakers or potential lawbreakers also happened in September in Michigan.
"It's a slippery slope" when it comes to the question of whether citizens who are licensed to carry guns should intervene in dangerous situations, if at all, Guglielmi said.
"You have situations like this," he said, referring to the foiled Chicago robbery. "And you have situations that end tragically. The department is not going to advocate for what people should or shouldn't do." ||||| Police say charges are unlikely against a licensed concealed-carry gun owner who shot and killed a robbery suspect after he threatened a worker with what turned out to be a paint gun in Gage Park on the Southwest Side over the weekend.
"The Chicago Police Department is wrapping up its investigation and charges do not appear likely," the department said in a statement.
Police say Reginald Gildersleeve, 55, walked into the Agencia Mexicana at 2701 W. 51st St. around 7 p.m. Saturday. A customer was making a financial transaction with a worker at the store, which also serves as a currency exchange, when Gildersleeve, wearing a mask, announced a robbery and pulled out a gun, according to Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for Chicago police.
Gildersleeve and the customer "got into some kind of confrontation" and the customer pulled a gun and fired, hitting Gildersleeve several times, Guglielmi said. At least two workers were inside at the time, a 55-year-old woman and a 17-year-old girl, but no one else was hit.
Several law enforcement sources said Gildersleeve had been holding a toy gun, and one source said it was a paintball gun.
Gildersleeve had a lengthy arrest history, including at least one for robbery, and was out on bond from an unrelated incident from Oct. 23, according to police. He lived about three blocks from the store.
Police referred the case to the Cook County state's attorney's office to "determine if there's any reason to charge" the 44-year-old customer, who had a concealed carry permit and a firearm owner's identification card, Guglielmi said. Police also reviewed video surveillance.
Photo gallery: Concealed carry shooting in Gage Park (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune) (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
The department released a statement Sunday night saying charges were unlikely.
A man who identified himself as the shooter's brother declined to comment Sunday, saying the family was doing OK but had been through a traumatic time and wanted to keep things private.
The stepson of the suspect expressed anger and frustration, saying he doubted the police account.
"Something doesn't seem right," said Igbinosa Oronsaye, whose mother was married to Gildersleeve. "Reggie doesn't even own a gun. He couldn't own a gun if he wanted to."
Oronsaye said he wasn't convinced the shooter acted properly.
"Some people don't actually know how to use guns," he said. "They go to firing ranges, but it's not the same as a bullet going into someone's body, it's not the same as a bullet going into flesh. They should be able to wound first, kill next. He didn't deserve to get shot multiple times.
"You just took a brother, you just took a father from a lot of people. Somebody's got to answer for that."
No charges after robbery suspect shot, Nov. 2, 2015. (CBS Chicago) No charges after robbery suspect shot, Nov. 2, 2015. (CBS Chicago) SEE MORE VIDEOS
Oronsaye chuckled when recalling his stepfather's jokes and love of playing cards, and said his family is devastated at what happened.
"I'm the strong one in the family and I was crying this morning. So how do you think they feel?" Oronsaye said. "Now my heart feels like ice. I loved that man so dearly."
Tribune reporters Jeremy Gorner, Greg Pratt and Megan Crepeau contributed.
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– Reginald Gildersleeve walked into a Chicago store Saturday night, wearing a mask, brandished a gun, pointed it at a worker and forced her to the back of the store, and announced his intention to rob the place, police say. That's when another customer, who has a concealed-carry license, confronted Gildersleeve, took out his own gun, and fired several times, killing the 55-year-old robbery suspect, authorities say. It turns out Gildersleeve was only brandishing a fake gun at the time, but police say the investigation is almost finished and charges against the man who shot him are not likely, the Chicago Tribune reports. Gildersleeve's gun has been variously reported to have been a paint gun, a toy gun, and a paintball gun. Gildersleeve's stepson isn't happy, noting that his stepdad "doesn't even own a gun. He couldn't own a gun if he wanted to" and questioning the actions of the man who shot him. "Some people don't actually know how to use guns. They go to firing ranges, but it's not the same as a bullet going into someone's body, it's not the same as a bullet going into flesh. They should be able to wound first, kill next. He didn't deserve to get shot multiple times," the stepson says. "You just took a brother, you just took a father from a lot of people. Somebody's got to answer for that." But "we're looking at it as a self-defense issue at this point," a police spokesperson tells the AP. "You have situations like this," in which no one else was hurt, "and you have situations that end tragically. The department is not going to advocate for what people should or shouldn't do."
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The International Astronomical Union has officially approved Kerberos and Styx as the new names for two of Pluto's moons. Image released on July 2, 2013.
It's official! Two tiny moons orbiting the dwarf planet Pluto finally have new names: Styx and Kerberos.
The International Astronomical Union — the organization responsible for naming celestial objects — has approved "Kerberos" and "Styx" as the new monikers for two of Pluto's moons that were previously called P4 and P5 respectively, but fans of TV's "Star Trek" might not be too happy about the new names.
The IAU selected the names based on the results of the Pluto Rocks Internet poll sponsored by SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), but the top vote-getter, Vulcan, ultimately wasn't chosen as a name for one of the tiny moons. [Photos of Pluto and its Moons]
Actor William Shatner — who portrayed the Starship Enterprise captain James T. Kirk in the original "Star Trek" TV series — suggested Vulcan (the home planet of the show's pointy-eared Vulcan people) as a possible candidate, and voters overwhelmingly cast their ballots in favor of it.
In total, nearly 500,000 votes were cast, with about 170,000 of those going to Vulcan alone. In second place was Cerberus with Styx coming in third in the online poll. But for Vulcan, it was not meant to be.
"The IAU gave serious consideration to this name, which happens to be shared by the Roman god of volcanoes," SETI officials wrote in a statement. "However, because that name has already been used in astronomy, and because the Roman god is not closely associated with Pluto, this proposal was rejected."
IAU rules states that Pluto's moons should be named for mythological characters of the underworld in Greek and Roman mythology. Pluto is known as the ruler of the underworld in ancient mythos.
Cerberus, the three-headed dog in Roman mythology, came in a clear second in the Pluto Rocks ballot with nearly 100,000 votes, but IAU officials decided to tweak the name slightly, instead opting to name the moon Kerberos — Cerberus' equivalent in Greek myth.
The name Styx, the river that separates the living from the dead in ancient myth, garnered about 88,000 votes for a third place finish.
Pluto, the most famous dwarf planet in our solar system, underwent a well-publicized (and somewhat controversial) reclassification that took away its title as the ninth and most distant planet from the sun. So, how well do you know this fascinating world? Start the Quiz 0 of 10 questions complete
Pluto Quiz: How Well Do You Know the Dwarf Planet? Pluto, the most famous dwarf planet in our solar system, underwent a well-publicized (and somewhat controversial) reclassification that took away its title as the ninth and most distant planet from the sun. So, how well do you know this fascinating world? 0 of questions complete
Scientists used the Hubble Space Telescope to discover Styx around Pluto in 2012. The space telescope also helped researchers discover the existence of Kerberos in 2011. Both moons are about 15 to 20 miles (20 to 30 kilometers) in diameter.
In all, five moons are known to be orbiting Pluto. Charon, the largest moon, was first spotted in 1978. Two more moons, Nix and Hydra, were discovered by Hubble in 2005.
Scientists will get a close-up view of the two new moons and the rest of the Pluto system in 2015 when NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flies by. Bound for Pluto, the probe, launched in 2007, will search for additional moons that Hubble is unable to detect and travel to the Kuiper Belt, a mass of icy bodies left over from the early formation of the solar system.
Editor's Note: This story was updated at 12:25 p.m. EDT (1625 GMT) to correct an error. NASA's New Horizons spacecraft was launched in 2006 and will fly by the Pluto system in 2015.
Follow Miriam Kramer on Twitter and Google+. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Original article on SPACE.com. ||||| Formerly known as P4 and P5, Pluto’s tiniest moons now have official names: Kerberos and Styx.
The names were among the top three selected by voters during a two-week polling period; they have just been approved by the International Astronomical Union’s official nomenclature committee.
Thus, from this day forward, the two tiniest of rocks orbiting the overgrown-snowball-formerly-known-as-a-planet will conjure the tales of a three-headed dog guarding the gates of the underworld (Kerberos), and the river that doomed souls must cross (Styx).
“I hope the public is going to be pleased with the decisions that were made,” said Mark Showalter, the SETI Institute scientist who discovered P4 in 2011 and P5 in 2012. “I don’t think anybody’s ever tried quite the scale of an Internet poll as we did.”
“What? That’s impossible! I’m going to lead a revolt” — William Shatner
Normally, whoever discovers a new celestial body gets a crack at naming it. But Showalter and his colleagues decided to take a more populist approach: They offered the public a chance to christen the new moons.
For two weeks in February, anyone with a computer could vote for their favorite names, or suggest ideas of their own. The caveats: Names needed to represent characters bearing more than just a passing relation to Pluto, the Greek god of the underworld, and must not have already been bestowed upon a celestial solar system object.
Initially, there were 12 names on the ballot, including such minions of Hades as Eurydice, Alecto, and Persephone. After a few days, Showalter added eight more. By the time voting closed, more than 450,000 votes had been cast, and voters had written in with 30,000 other options (including Stephen and Colbert, Mickey and Minnie, Potato and Pota(h)to, and various siblings claimed to be underworldly).
Among those write-ins was Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and volcanic fury, and the first addition to the ballot. Suggested on February 12 in a tweet by the actor William Shatner, Vulcan quickly zoomed ahead of the competition, leading the final tally with more than 170,00 votes.
Showalter submitted Vulcan, and second-place Cerberus (99,432 votes) to the International Astronomical Union for approval.
But when mulling over the names, the IAU found there were already too many objects named after Vulcan – not including the fictional home world of Star Trek‘s Mr. Spock – and after much deliberation, ruled that Vulcan wouldn’t work.
“What? That’s impossible! I’m going to lead a revolt,” Shatner said, when Wired told him of the outcome. “Pluto is so big and cold that it deserved to have a hot little rock running around it, named Vulcan — for fire.”
Cerberus, too, ran into trouble – it was also already in use, by an asteroid. Instead, Showalter and colleagues tried Kerberos, the Greek spelling. And in place of Vulcan, they submitted third-place Styx (87,858 votes), which in addition to being a river, is also the name of the goddess of unbreakable oaths.
The IAU approved both.
“It’s a disappointment of mine that Vulcan wasn’t approved by the IAU, but there were so many issues around it having to do with its prior use,” Showalter said, noting that “Vulcan” is the name of a hypothetical inner solar system planet, as well as a class of sun-grazing asteroids.
The decision doesn’t rule out the possibility of something named after Vulcan in the Pluto system, however.
When the New Horizons spacecraft flies near the five-mooned world in 2015, it’ll be busy snapping photos of Pluto and its largest satellite, Charon. The images should return incredibly detailed views of these far-off iceballs, pictures that will allow scientists – and the rest of us – to discern surface features like craters and mountains. Unlike orbiting bodies, these features aren’t subject to many nomenclature restrictions (which leads to such awesomeness as Mount Doom on Titan and various artists on Mercury).
Right now, New Horizons is still 6 astronomical units away from Pluto, and the planetary runt is still just a bright point of light. By April 2015, the spacecraft will be close enough to the distant, icy world that its onboard cameras should produce images exceeding the resolution of the best Hubble Space Telescope images.
Maybe, hiding somewhere in those pixels, is a kick-ass ice volcano that could only be called Vulcan, an erupting fountain of fury that wouldn’t be the same by any other name. ||||| Sorry, William Shatner. The International Astronomical Union decided not to name either of Pluto’s two smallest moons after Mr. Spock’s home planet of Vulcan, despite an online campaign that garnered global support for the “Star Trek” star’s suggestion.
Vulcan was the top vote-getter during a “Pluto Rocks” contest to come up with official names for the moons previously known as P4 and P5. According to results released by election organizer Mark Showalter, a planetary astronomer with the SETI Institute, Vulcan blew away the competition with 174,062 votes from people all over the world.
Coming in a distant second with 99,432 votes was Cerberus, the Roman name for the three-headed dog that guards the entrance to the underworld in classical mythology. Third place went to Styx, the Greek name for the river separating Earth from the underworld, with 87,858 votes.
“They didn't name the moon Vulcan. I'm sad.” Shatner tweeted Tuesday morning after the IAU announced its decision. (In an earlier tweet, he noted that “Vulcan won in a landslide.”)
Instead, the IAU -- which describes itself as “the internationally recognized authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and surface features on them” -- went with Kerberos for P4 and Styx for P5. Kerberos is the Greek version of Cerberus; the name was changed “to avoid confusion with an asteroid called 1865 Cerberus,” the IAU explained in Tuesday’s announcement.
Moons of the solar system
Cerberus and Styx were leading the contest until Shatner suggested Vulcan in a Feb. 12 tweet. He also proposed the name Romulus, in honor of the home planet of the Star Trek beings known as Romulans. But that never even made it to the online ballot, because the solar system already has a moon named Romulus -- it orbits the asteroid Sylvia, along with another moon called Remus.
What about Vulcan? This was tricky too, because the name had already been used to describe a planet once thought the orbit even closer to the sun than Mercury. The hypothetical planet never materialized, but the name stuck.
“Although this planet was found not to exist, the term ‘vulcanoid’ remains attached to any asteroid existing inside the orbit of Mercury, and the name Vulcan could not be accepted for one of Pluto’s satellites,” the IAU said.
Shatner wasn’t having it.
“So they name a moon Kerebus because there's already a Cerebus asteroid but a mythological planet knocks out Vulcan?” he tweeted.
Later, Shatner accused the powers-that-be of being partial to "Star Wars": “Where's Fisher?!!! She's been too quiet lately.”
That was followed by: “Star Trek fans have had it rough. First JJ blows up Vulcan and now SETI finds a loophole to deny it from coming back!” (Actually, Capt. Kirk, it was the IAU’s decision. SETI only ran the online election.)
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The IAU noted another problem with Vulcan. Pluto is the Greek name for the ruler of the underworld -- he was the brother of Zeus, ruler of the heavens, and Poseidon, ruler of the seas -- and Pluto’s other three moons have underworld-themed names too. There’s Charon, who ferries souls of the dead across the rivers Styx and Acheron; Nix, goddess of the night and mother of Charon; and Hydra, the nine-headed monster who served as guardian of the underworld. Vulcan would have been an outlier.
“Vulcan does not fit into the underworld mythological scheme,” the IAU announcement said.
Kerberos and Styx were discovered in 2011 and 2012, respectively. They appeared in images of the Pluto system taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in preparation for the 2015 visit by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft. New Horizons is more than halfway to the dwarf planet. After its rendezvous with Pluto, it will travel to the Kuiper Belt, the source of many of the solar system’s comets.
In a Google+ hangout, SETI’s Showalter suggested that New Horizons may find a crater in the Pluto system worthy of naming after Capt. Kirk, Mr. Spock or other "Star Trek" characters.
Shatner was not appeased. “Did you hear the consolation?” he tweeted. “They may name a crater after Kirk. A pockmark on a planetoid is a fitting tribute? (Rolling my eyes).”
Return to Science Now. ||||| Star Trek fans have had it rough. First JJ blows up Vulcan and now SETI finds a loophole to deny it from coming back!
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– Though Star Trek fans (led by William Shatner) overwhelmingly won an online vote to name one of Pluto's recently found moons "Vulcan" earlier this year, the International Astronomical Union has decided against the moniker. It has named the former planet's fourth and fifth moons "Styx" and "Kerberos," instead, Space.com reports. "The IAU gave serious consideration to this name, which happens to be shared by the Roman god of volcanoes," says the poll's sponsor, SETI. "However, because that name has already been used in astronomy, and because the Roman god is not closely associated with Pluto, this proposal was rejected." (The IAU had specified that Pluto's moons had to be named after underworld figures from classical mythology.) Kerberos is the Greek equivalent of Cerberus, the three-headed dog who guarded the underworld's entrance; it was the second-place winner in the poll, with 100,000 votes to Vulcan's 170,000. Styx, which scored 88,000 votes, is a mythological river that separates the living from the dead. Shatner is not happy with the decision, reports Wired. "Star Trek fans have had it rough. First JJ blows up Vulcan and now SETI finds a loophole to deny it from coming back!" he wrote on Twitter, adding, "Who'd ever thought I'd be betrayed by geeks and nerds?" As a consolation, a rep from SETI says it may name a crater after Captain Kirk, the LA Times reports.
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Glen Davis Mocks Cam Newton 'Probably Has Woman Problems'
Glen Davis Mocks Cam Newton: 'Probably Has Woman Problems'
EXCLUSIVE
Ex-NBA star Glen "Big Baby" Davis says he believes Cam Newton was sincere in his apology -- but that didn't stop him from clowning on the QB last night.
"I think he was sincere. I think he just made a mistake," Davis said on his way out of Poppy in L.A. ... "He's probably got woman problems or something."
Davis also said Cam shouldn't sweat losing his Greek yogurt sponsor because he thinks it tastes like "baby food" anyway.
So, what can Cam do now?
"I think his clothing should express how he feels. I think he should wear some women's clothing."
Yeah, hold your breath on that one. ||||| Cam Newton laughed at and belittled one of my sportswriting colleagues at The Observer Wednesday, and that is inexcusable.
Jourdan Rodrigue, for the past year one of two beat writers assigned by The Observer to cover the Carolina Panthers, asked Newton during his weekly press conference about wide receiver Devin Funchess’s routes.
“It’s funny to hear a female talk about routes,” Newton said, laughing to himself and then repeating, “It’s funny.” He punctuated the remark with a couple of exaggerated smiles. Only then did he answer the question.
I was in that room, which held about 30 media members, and there was dead silence when Newton proclaimed “It’s funny” – because actually it wasn’t funny at all. To state the obvious, this is 2017 and not 1967. All Rodrigue wanted to do on Wednesday was her job, and instead she found herself in the middle of a social media firestorm.
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I don't think it's "funny" to be a female and talk about routes. I think it's my job. — Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) October 4, 2017
After the news conference, Rodrigue wanted to find Newton and talk about what he said. She did catch up with him briefly. The conversation, according to Rodrigue, was not taped but went something like this:
She asked the quarterback if he really didn’t think a female could understand routes.
Newton said she wasn’t really seeing specific routes when watching the game, she was just seeing if somebody was open. She argued that he didn’t know what she saw nor how hard she had studied football, and that maybe the two of them needed to have a deeper conversation.
Newton said that maybe he should have said it was funny to hear “reporters” talk about routes and that, if she actually did know about them, then she knew more than most reporters. Then he gestured toward the locker room, still filled with her colleagues.
Rodrigue ended by asking Newton – whom she had introduced herself to on the first day of her employment with The Observer in October 2016 – if he knew her name after she had covered the team almost every day for the past year.
Newton said he did not.
“Jourdan Rodrigue, Charlotte Observer,” she said, and then walked away.
SHARE COPY LINK Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera responds to a question about quarterback Cam Newton on Thursday during a press conference at Bank of America Stadium.
Panthers spokesman Steven Drummond said later Wednesday afternoon via a statement: “I have spoken with Jourdan and Cam and I know they had a conversation where he expressed regret for using those words. We strive as a department to make the environment for media comfortable for everyone covering the team.”
What should have been forthcoming immediately from the quarterback, of course, was an apology.
But Rodrigue said Newton did not apologize. She said of Newton’s original comment to her question: “I was dismayed by his response, which not only belittled me but countless other women before me and beside me who work in similar jobs. I sought Mr. Newton out as he left the locker room a few minutes later. He did not apologize for his comments.”
‘Just plain wrong’
Women have regularly been covering pro sports for decades. Newton’s original comment was sexist and ill-informed, and the follow-up conversation was no better. The NFL understood all this a lot more quickly than the Panthers did and put out its own statement condemning Newton’s comments.
SHARE COPY LINK Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera says that he is working to keep the team focused following the rash of recent events nationally and internationally, including Cam Newton's sexist comments, a shooting in Las Vegas and National Anthem Protes
“The comments are just plain wrong and disrespectful to the exceptional female reporters and all journalists who cover our league,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told The Observer. “They do not reflect the thinking of the league.”
Let me just add this: I’ve been covering the Panthers for the past 23 seasons, and Rodrigue knows more about the subtle intricacies of football than I do.
For instance: I sort of know what a wide receiver’s “route tree” is. Rodrigue knows exactly what a route tree is and can diagram one for you.
I kind of understand what a “3” technique is for a defensive lineman. Rodrigue knows just what it means.
So yes, she’s a 25-year-old woman, and she knows a ton about football.
Single-minded determination
SHARE COPY LINK Jourdan Rodrigue and Joe Person discuss possible outcomes in Sunday's matchup when the Carolina Panthers take on the New England Patriots.
Rodrigue isn’t interested in who is going to be singing at the Super Bowl halftime show. She’s interested in covering the actual Super Bowl. She got hooked on football 10 years ago watching Boise State upset Oklahoma 43-42 in one of the greatest college bowl games ever played. She wanted to know everything about the Statue of Liberty, the trick play that helped Boise State pull off the upset.
She was 15 years old at the time.
Rodrigue studied the game. She got a subscription to NFL Game Pass. She gravitated toward listening to former players who were announcers since they seemed to know more about what was happening on the field.
Rodrigue has pursued being a sportswriter with single-minded determination for the past 10 years. She graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State. She interned with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Arizona State athletic department as a sportswriter. She moved to Pennsylvania and wrote about Penn State football, and we were impressed enough to pluck her from there and put her on the NFL beat alongside Joseph Person.
While at The Observer, she has continued to study. I have watched her time and again have conversations with thoughtful Panthers players such as safety Kurt Coleman and tight end Ed Dickson and ask them increasingly detailed questions about football so she can understand more about it.
In short, Jourdan Rodrigue knew exactly what she was talking about Wednesday.
Cam Newton, on the other hand, had no idea. ||||| Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE SportsPulse: Trysta Krick provides insight into Cam Newton's sexist comments. USA TODAY Sports
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton lost a sponsor in Dannon on Thursday as a result of his comments to a female reporter. (Photo: Jasen Vinlove, USA TODAY Sports)
Cam Newton is only 28, but he appears to be beholden to another time, an era when he wasn’t alive but must wish he had been, a time when if you were a man who told a joke to demean a woman in a nontraditional role, the world laughed with you.
How shocked Newton must have been then by the overwhelming silence that greeted his little joke about The Charlotte Observer’s Carolina Panthers beat writer Jourdan Rodrigue Wednesday afternoon.
Newton looked so pleased with himself as he dropped his punchline on what was an entirely appropriate question about one of his receivers:
"It’s funny to hear a female talk about routes,’” Newton smirked dismissively.
More: Panthers coach Ron Rivera: Newton's comments were 'mistake'
More: Contrary to what Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton says, sexism isn't funny
The Panthers interview room was filled with about 30 sports media members, most of them male. Not a one of them laughed. “Dead silence” is the way veteran Observer columnist Scott Fowler described it.
The noise, it turns out, was on its way. It came a couple of hours later on social media, and it was deafening. It appeared in the form of tweets — from women and, more important, from men, especially men in the sports media — defending Rodrigue specifically and women in sports media in general while lambasting Newton.
For those of us who often had to go it alone in the midst of this kind of sexist nonsense 25-30 years ago, the reaction was as heartening as it was eye-opening. A thought crossed my mind: While Newton’s comment came from somewhere deep in the middle of the 20th century, this national response I was witnessing definitely belonged in the here and now.
I thought back to 1990, to what happened to the Boston Herald’s Lisa Olson, who left the country — yes, the country — after being horribly mistreated by several New England Patriots, then by some Boston media members and fans.
And now this. The sports world was calling out sexism and pointing its finger at the perpetrator while defending a professional woman in a way I had never seen.
The NFL in particular came down forcefully on Newton, calling his words “just plain wrong and disrespectful to the exceptional female reporters and all journalists who cover our league.”
Then, Thursday around noon, Dannon announced it was dumping Newton as a spokesperson for its Oikos brand.
“We are shocked and disheartened at the behavior and comments … which we perceive as sexist and disparaging to all women.”
I’m not saying that's a first, but I’m having trouble remembering a company in the past reacting that quickly to sexism. Racism, yes. But sexism?
Then came Gatorade. It didn’t cut ties to Newton, but it did severely lecture him, saying his comments were “objectionable and disrespectful to all women.”
Why Newton and the Panthers didn’t issue blanket apologies Wednesday night in the midst of the onslaught against Newton will remain an unsolved mystery.
Perhaps, boys being boys, they didn’t think it was that big of a deal.
Isn’t it wonderful to see how wrong they were? ||||| Cam Newton should have known better. When he smirked and laughed at a woman trying to do her job Wednesday afternoon and said it’s “funny to hear a female talk about routes,” he should have known better. Newton should have know that he was fueling the same stupid bias and prejudice that blacks in the NFL have had to fight against to become quarterbacks.
He should have known better Wednesday afternoon, but the 28-year-old put his foot in his mouth and belittled and degraded Charlotte Observer reporter Jourdan Rodrigue and a lot of other women whose only offense was to dare to cover sports.
Thursday, however, Newton taught us an equally important lesson. We can learn to be better. We can listen to someone else’s point of view, admit when we are wrong, apologize and move on. We could all use to do that a little more often.
After taking a pile of criticism for his stupid comments, after losing a very lucrative sponsor in Dannon Yogurt and perhaps others, and hearing from the NFL that it wasn’t smart to insult nearly 67.5 million of the league’s’ fans, Newton apologized.
Cam Newton issues apology after sexist comment
“After careful thought, I understand my word choice was extremely degrading and disrespectful to women and to be honest that was not my intention,” Newton said in a video released via Twitter. “If you are a person who took offense to what I said, I sincerely apologize to you.
“I’m a man who tries be a positive role model in my community and tries to use my platform to inspire others,” he continued. “I take ownership of everything that comes with that. What I did was extremely unacceptable.”
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton acts like just another sexist bully with his press conference behavior. (Stephen Brashear/AP)
It was, of course, totally unacceptable to respond to this question:
“Cam, I know you take a lot of pride in seeing your receivers play well. Devin Funchess has seemed to really embrace the physicality of his routes and getting those extra yards. Does that give you a little bit of enjoyment to see him kind of truck-sticking people out there?”
Cam Newton makes sexist remark at female reporter’s question
With this sexist, bullying comment:
“It’s funny to hear a female talk about routes. It’s funny,” Newton said.
Newton’s words Wednesday were simply infuriating not just for the reporter, whose past racist tweets should make her grateful that he is talking about forgiveness, but to a lot of us who have been there over the years.
Cam Newton has a habit of getting grumpy when meeting the press, but this crossed the line. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)
My first week on the Mets beat, I was trying to find my way around the complex at Port St. Lucie and put some names to the many new faces. One of my Daily News colleagues was trying to help, introducing me around to coaches and team personnel as best he could. One executive was nice enough when we met; we chatted backgrounds for about three minutes and he never asked me about the game or my background.
Reporter Jourdan Rodrigue apologizes for past offensive tweets
Instead, as I walked away, he turned to my male colleague, who never played baseball professionally either, and asked “But what’s she going to know about baseball?”
Ask any woman who has covered sports and she has a similar story — or 10 — about dealing with the moment when someone challenges your abilities simply based on your gender.
It’s dumb, unfounded and prejudiced.
And it’s something Newton is going to have to fight against for the rest of his life. As much pressure as he took from sponsors, the league, social media and the media, he had a much bigger audience to face at home.
Cam Newton is a dynamic player on the field but a new headache for the NFL when he steps off the field. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)
As he explained in his video, he simply has to be invested in a future where women are treated fairly in the workplace.
“I am a father to two beautiful daughters,” Newton said in the video. “And at their age I try to instill in them they can do and be anything they want to be. The fact through this process I have already lost sponsors and countless fans, I realize the joke is really on me.
“I learned a valuable lesson through this. And to the young people who see this, I hope you learned something as well. Don’t be like me, be better than me,” Newton said. “To the reporters, to the journalists, to the moms, supermoms, to the daughters the sisters and the women all around the world, I sincerely apologize and hope you can find the kindness in your heart to forgive me.”
I accept his apology and hope the reporter does, too. And I hope Newton’s daughters and their generation never know this kind of sexism in their workplace.
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– Cam Newton has apologized for his sexist remarks to female reporter Jourdan Rodrigue, and to women in general, but the hype hasn't yet died down. "I'm a man who tries to be a positive role model in my community and tries to use my platform to inspire others," Newton said in a video posted on Twitter Thursday. He added that he's been thinking of his two young daughters and how he's trying to raise them knowing "they can do and be anything that they want to be," and that he "takes ownership" for his "extremely unacceptable" remarks. "Don't be like me," he tells young people listening. "Be better than me." Meanwhile, ex-LA Clipper Glen Davis tells TMZ he thinks Newton's apology was "sincere" and that he "just made a mistake," adding, "He's probably got woman problems or something." More takes making the rounds: One of the first people to stick up for Rodrigue: Scott Fowler, a fellow sportswriter at the Charlotte Observer. Fowler calls Newton's remarks "inexcusable" and "ill-informed," documenting Rodrigue's sports journalism background—including a degree from Arizona State's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism—and instincts on the sidelines. "I've been covering the Panthers for the past 23 seasons, and Rodrigue knows more about the subtle intricacies of football than I do," he writes. "In short, Jourdan Rodrigue knew exactly what she was talking about Wednesday. Cam Newton, on the other hand, had no idea." Sally Jenkins picks up on that theme for a sarcasm-infused Washington Post op-ed in which she suggests a "gender-culture exchange" with the quarterback. "In the name of gender diplomacy, I will help Cam Newton with certain feminine concepts if he will help me understand how to use the twist-top on a bottle of beer, and why some men act like football strategy is more complicated than a space flight guidance system," she writes. She doesn't try so hard to mask her anger in the next barb: "We women who cover the NFL have spent years hiding our impatience dealing with average quarterbacks with below-average verbal skills." Over at the New York Daily News, Kristie Ackert says Newton "should have known better" than to make his "infuriating" comment, but adding it can be a valuablelesson for everyone. She accepts his apology and says we can all "learn to be better. We can listen to someone else's point of view, admit when we are wrong, apologize, and move on. We could all use to do that a little more often." Christine Brennan hopes "there's good to come out" of all of this. Writing in USA Today, Brennan notes the "dead silence" in the Panthers' interview room (mostly filled with male reporters) after Newton's comment to Rodrigue, followed by all of the "noise" on social media later. "The reaction was as heartening as it was eye-opening," she writes, also giving props to the NFL and two of the companies Newton represents (including Dannon, which dumped him) for their quick response in dressing him down. (Meanwhile, Rodrigue had some apologizing of her own to do.)
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Fox News chairman Roger Ailes says "the air has been cleared" with Donald Trump.
"Donald Trump and I spoke today," Ailes said Monday in a statement obtained by CNNMoney. "We discussed our concerns, and I again expressed my confidence in Megyn Kelly. She is a brilliant journalist and I support her 100 percent."
Ailes continued: "I assured him that we will continue to cover this campaign with fairness & balance. We had a blunt but cordial conversation and the air has been cleared."
Kelly briefly acknowledged the controversy on her 9 p.m. program -- and then moved on. "I certainly will not apologize for doing good journalism" she said in a pointed response to Trump, who had suggested earlier in the day that she should apologize to him.
In an interview on CNN's "New Day" Tuesday morning, Trump effusively praised Ailes, calling him "an amazing guy and an amazing executive" and a "very good friend of mine."
When anchor Chris Cuomo asked, "Was part of the deal that Megyn Kelly wouldn't go on her show and attack you and keep it going?," Trump responded, "No, I don't -- we didn't even discuss that -- it's not about Megyn Kelly."
He reiterated that "I have no problems" with Fox.
That's a big change, because Trump had been lambasting Kelly and Fox for days, ever since he was challenged in last week's GOP debate on the network. He says the Fox moderators were unfair to him and that Fox should be "ashamed."
After Trump started complaining, Fox dramatically ratcheted down its coverage of the candidate. The channel barely covered Trump's criticisms of the moderators Kelly, Chris Wallace and Bret Baier.
But the motor-mouth Republican candidate began to ease up on his criticism of the channel on Monday morning after Ailes called.
Trump tweeted that Ailes had assured him of this: "'Trump' will be treated fairly on Fox News."
Trump added: "His word is always good!"
Soon after the phone call, Fox confirmed that Trump would be appearing on Tuesday's "Fox & Friends."
The show's co-host Steve Doocy welcomed him back by saying, "Glad we're friends again."
Trump will also be on Sean Hannity's 10 p.m. show on Tuesday.
This was (and is) a true clash of titans. Fox News is the favored network of Republicans, and Trump is the Republican campaign front-runner.
Trump complained over and over again about what he perceived to be the network's unfair treatment. On Sunday afternoon he tweeted: "It amazes me that other networks seem to treat me so much better than Fox News. I brought them the biggest ratings in history, and I get zip!"
And he repeatedly and personally insulted Kelly, Fox's 9 p.m. host.
While Trump is appearing on other Fox shows, it is "highly unlikely" that he will appear with Kelly in the coming days, a source said -- and that's probably an understatement.
The fight started several days ago when Kelly and the other moderators posed tough questions to Trump and other GOP candidates.
Kelly was praised for asking Trump about sexist and misogynistic comments from his past. But Trump was furious.
On Friday night, speaking with CNN's Don Lemon, Trump complained about Kelly's "anger" at the debate by saying there was "blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever." Many people believe he insinuating something about her menstrual cycle, but Trump denied that.
Kelly and Ailes declined to comment on the "blood" comments. Privately, though, they were disgusted by what Trump said and by the response from some of his supporters.
There was so much invective directed at her on the Internet that it created security concerns for Fox.
Kelly did not want to be seen as a victim; rather, she wanted to stay above the fray and be seen as an independent-minded journalist. That's why she barely addressed the controversy on Monday night.
Roger Ailes just called. He is a great guy & assures me that "Trump" will be treated fairly on @FoxNews. His word is always good! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2015
Ailes' role in all this was critical. He was a masterful Republican media consultant for decades before creating Fox News. He is widely regarded as a television genius and a conservative power broker.
And he has a long history with Trump. Before this current presidential bid, Trump was a weekly guest on the network's morning show "Fox & Friends."
According to Politico, the two men met for a long lunch in late June, shortly after Trump entered the race.
So what was Ailes thinking in this case? Ailes has a reputation as a fighter -- someone who has employed his network and his hosts to win many battles over the years.
Around the office, Ailes has been known to repeat advice from his father: "Don't pick a fight with someone who likes to fight."
Usually when he invokes it, he means it as a warning to others.
But this situation was tricky. Why? Because Trump is a fighter, too.
For now, the two men seem to have struck a fragile truce.
The Future of Media, a customized magazine ||||| Photo
Lagging in the polls, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky set aside his right to privacy agenda on Monday afternoon to take up another cause: derailing Donald J. Trump.
Mr. Paul laid into Mr. Trump in an afternoon conference call, calling him “a bully” and an “empty suit,” and comparing him to the “emperor with no clothes.”
“Are we going to fix the country through bombast and empty blather?” Mr. Paul asked. “Somebody has to challenge him.”
Mr. Paul has made that his mission. He started the Republican presidential debate on Thursday evening with a verbal assault on Mr. Trump’s integrity, accusing him of pretending to be conservative and cozying up to the Clintons.
He followed that with an op-ed in IJReview listing Mr. Trump’s history of liberal positions and calling on Republican voters to fire Mr. Trump and pick a serious candidate.
On Monday evening, Mr. Trump responded on Twitter, comparing Mr. Paul to a “spoiled brat” and saying he “was terrible at DEBATE!”
The confrontation with Mr. Trump comes as Mr. Paul’s campaign appears to be stumbling. His debate performance was panned and recent polls have shown him slipping into the bottom tier of candidates.
Last week also brought the specter of scandal, as a close aide and the head of a “super PAC” that supports the senator was indicted on charges of hiding secret payments while working on the 2012 presidential campaign of Ron Paul, Mr. Paul’s father.
Mr. Paul had little to say about that on Monday, instead reminding voters of his Tea Party credentials and directing his ire at Mr. Trump.
“I think if no one stands up to a bully, a bully will just keep doing what they’re doing,” Mr. Paul said. “Unless someone points out the emperor has no clothes, they will continue to strut about, and then we’ll end up with a reality TV star as our nominee.” ||||| Megyn Kelly opened her Fox News program on Monday night by addressing the uproar over Donald J. Trump’s personal attacks on her, her first comments since he made a remark that many interpreted as a reference to her menstrual cycle.
“I certainly will not apologize for doing good journalism, so I’ll continue doing my job without fear or favor,” she told viewers in brief comments on her show, “The Kelly File.”
“This is a tough business,” she added, “and it’s time now to move forward.”
She said she would not respond directly to any of Mr. Trump’s numerous insults and disparaging statements about her.
Mr. Trump and many of his supporters have unleashed a social media assault against Ms. Kelly and Fox News since she asked him pointed questions about his descriptions of women as pigs, dogs and slobs.
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– Looks like Fox News and Donald Trump are friends again: The candidate will appear on Fox & Friends this morning, and Roger Ailes, the network's chairman, says the "air has been cleared" after what he describes as a "blunt but cordial" conversation in which he promised Trump his campaign would be covered with "fairness and balance," CNN reports. "We discussed our concerns, and I again expressed my confidence in Megyn Kelly. She is a brilliant journalist and I support her 100%," Ailes says. Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy says Trump will discuss "his relationship with Fox News" in what will be his first appearance on the network since last week's debate and his widely slammed remarks about Kelly. On her show last night, Kelly said she wouldn't respond to Trump's attacks, but would keep on doing her job "without fear or favor," the New York Times reports. "This is a tough business, and it's time now to move forward," she said. Insiders tell New York magazine that Ailes reached out to Trump because he was worried that conservatives were taking his side and the episode could end up damaging the network. Trump tweeted yesterday that Ailes is a "great guy" who had promised to treat him fairly. He already appears to have found a new target: After Sen. Rand Paul described Trump as "a bully" and an "empty suit" in a New York Times interview yesterday afternoon, Trump tweeted that the "truly weird" senator reminded him of a "spoiled brat without a properly functioning brain."
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THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The Netherlands told Moscow on Friday it will hold the Russian state legally responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in July 2014, after investigators concluded that a Russian army missile system was used in the attack.
FILE PHOTO: Dutch police officer Wilbert Paulissen, head of the National Crime Squad, is pictured next to a damaged missile as he presents interim results in the ongoing investigation of the 2014 MH17 crash that killed 298 people over eastern Ukraine, during a news conference by members of the Joint Investigation Team, comprising the authorities from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine, in Bunnik, Netherlands, May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo
MH17 was shot down over territory held by pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine as it flew from Amsterdam en route to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 298 people onboard, roughly two-thirds of them Dutch.
A team of international investigators said on Thursday that the “Buk” missile system used to bring down the passenger plane came from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Brigade, based in the western Russian city of Kursk.
“It is the first time the finger points to one specific country,” Prime Minister Mark Rutte told reporters after an emergency cabinet meeting. “We are holding Russia responsible for their role in the deployment of the Buk rocket system.”
The diplomatic escalation comes at a time when relations between Western powers and Russia have reached their lowest point in decades.
“Russia didn’t cooperate with the international legal requests in relation to the investigation,” Rutte said, referring to the probe carried out by prosecutors from Australia, Malaysia, Belgium, Ukraine and the Netherlands.
The Netherlands and Australia informed Moscow that it expects Russia to now provide full assistance to the investigation, which is in the final stage of identifying perpetrators to be tried under Dutch law.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Washington supported the decisions by the Netherlands and Australia “to hold Russia to account.”
FILE PHOTO: A damaged missile is displayed during a news conference by members of the Joint Investigation Team, comprising the authorities from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine who present interim results in the ongoing investigation of the 2014 MH17 crash that killed 298 people over eastern Ukraine, in Bunnik, Netherlands, May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo
“It is time for Russia to acknowledge its role in the shooting down of MH-17 and to cease its callous disinformation campaign,” she said.
Russia has always denied any involvement, and said on Thursday none of its missile launchers had ever entered Ukraine, despite photographic evidence presented by prosecutors.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday his Dutch counterpart had been unable to provide evidence of Russia’s involvement in the crash, the Russian TASS news agency reported.
Rutte declined to specify what steps would follow if Moscow continued to fail to cooperate. The speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, was quoted by the TASS Russian news agency as saying on Friday that Russia was prepared for everything, including new sanctions.
Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said the Netherlands and Australia would seek unspecified financial damages.
Blok said that attempts to hold Russia responsible for the plane’s downing under international law would be a different, parallel process from the ongoing investigation by prosecutors seeking to establish individual criminal responsibility.
Russia is already under U.S. and European sanctions over its 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. More recently, dozens of countries have expelled Russian diplomats in solidarity with Britain which accused Moscow of using a nerve agent to poison an ex-spy and his daughter in an English city in March.
The United States has tightened sanctions this year after accusing Russia of meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Russia denies all of the Western accusations against it and says it is the target of a propaganda campaign. ||||| Image copyright AFP Image caption The remains of the Boeing 777, photographed at its crash site in 2014
Australia and the Netherlands say they are holding Russia responsible for downing a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet in 2014.
All 298 people on board MH17, which was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, died when it was shot down over rebel-held territory in Ukraine.
On Thursday, Dutch-led international investigators concluded that the missile belonged to a Russian brigade.
Russia has denied any involvement in the plane's destruction.
Moscow's defence ministry said it "rejects the version of the Dutch investigators". It has previously insisted that none of its weapons were used to bring down MH17.
The team of international investigators, however, found that "all the vehicles in a convoy carrying the missile were part of the Russian armed forces". It was fired from rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine.
When it hit the Malaysia Airlines plane, it killed 193 Dutch nationals, 43 people from Malaysia, and 27 from Australia. Other victims came from countries including Indonesia, the UK, Belgium, Germany and the Philippines.
What is Russia being accused of?
The Netherlands and Australia say it violated international law.
The decision was announced in a statement from the Dutch government and by Australia's foreign minister Julie Bishop.
"On the basis of the [joint international team's] conclusions, the Netherlands and Australia are now convinced that Russia is responsible for the deployment of the Buk installation that was used to down MH17," Dutch foreign minister Stef Blok said.
"The government is now taking the next step by formally holding Russia accountable."
The statement added, however, that holding a nation state responsible for a breach of international law would involve "a complex legal process".
"We call on Russia to accept its responsibility and cooperate fully with the process to establish the truth and achieve justice for the victims of flight MH17 and their next of kin," Mr Blok said.
On the Australian side, Ms Bishop wrote: "The only conclusion we can reasonably now draw is that Russia was directly involved in the downing of MH17."=
Image copyright Reuters Image caption A damaged missile is shown by the joint investigators at a press conference on Thursday
Australia and the Netherlands have asked Russia to enter talks as a first step, but held out the prospect of taking the case to an international court.
The EU, US, Nato and the UK added their own calls for Russia to accept responsibility for the incident.
Analysis: No easy options
Dr Sergey Vasiliev, Assistant Professor of Public International Law, Leiden University
There are several legal routes and steps the Dutch and Australian governments could take - but none are going to be easy.
The first would be to try and negotiate a solution diplomatically, which could take the form of an acknowledgment of responsibility and apology, full inquiry and disclosure, domestic criminal proceedings against those responsible, and compensation to the families of victims.
This is a preferable, quicker, option - but Russia will most likely continue denying its involvement in, and responsibility for, the downing of MH17 considering its conduct during the almost four years since.
Admitting responsibility would make denying support of rebels in the region impossible.
For similar reasons, any other modalities of dispute settlement which would require Russia's consent have zero prospect of success.
The Netherlands and Australia could then resort to the more formal means of dispute settlement, such as initiating a case against Russia before the International Court of Justice, although jurisdictional bases for the potential case are quite narrow and limited to civil aviation conventions to which both applicant and respondent states are parties.
The Netherlands could also file an inter-state application with the European Court of Human Rights against Russia.
But whatever legal avenue is taken, a shorter path to accountability would seem rather to lie in the political domain.
What did the investigation find?
Investigators said the plane was downed by a Russian-made Buk missile, supplied by the country's 53rd anti-aircraft brigade in Kursk.
Flight MH17 left Amsterdam on 17 July 2014, at a time when conflict between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces was at its peak.
MH17's high-altitude flight path was thought to be safe, despite warnings about the rebels' missile capability.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Investigators said they had evidence of the route taken by a Russian missile convoy
Some 50km (30 miles) from the border between Russia and Ukraine, air traffic control lost contact with MH17.
It soon emerged that it had crashed in the Donetsk area - controlled by pro-Russian forces.
Early on in the probe, investigators concluded that a missile exploded extremely close to the passenger plane's nose, puncturing the hull with shrapnel.
What does Russia say?
Russia has always insisted it played no part whatsoever in the downing of MH17.
"Not a single anti-aircraft missile system from the Russian Federation has ever crossed the Russia-Ukraine border," the defence ministry in Moscow said on Thursday.
But both Ukrainian and US intelligence sources believe the Buk missile system involved was sent into rebel territory by Russia and then moved out again.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the Dutch investigation did not include any Russian participation, but did include Ukrainian representatives.
"Obviously as we did not have the chance to be a full participant, we don't know how far we can believe the result," he said.
And Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who said he had spoken to his Dutch counterpart, drew parallels with the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in the UK.
"It looks much like the Skripal affair when they said that it was 'highly likely' done by Russians but Scotland Yard immediately said that the investigation is ongoing and will take some time," he told reporters.
"If our partners [an apparent reference to the Netherlands] decided even in this case of a greatest human tragedy, the death of hundreds of people, to speculate on it for achieving their political goals, I leave it on their conscience."
Russia had previously blamed a Ukrainian military pilot, Capt Vladyslav Voloshyn, who had flown a series of missions against the Russian-backed separatists.
Capt Voloshyn apparently killed himself in March. ||||| Holding Russia responsible for its role in the downing of MH17 Joint media release The Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP, Prime Minister
The Hon Julie Bishop MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs
The Hon Christian Porter MP, Attorney-General
The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) yesterday released significant findings that the BUK missile system used to down MH17 belonged to the 53rd Brigade of the Russian army.
These findings are built on earlier findings that the BUK missile system was taken from Russia to eastern Ukraine and back, immediately after the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 on 17 July 2014.
Based on these findings, the only conclusion we can reasonably now draw is that Russia was directly involved in the downing of MH17.
This evening Australia and the Netherlands notified the Russian Federation that we hold it responsible for its role in the downing. We have requested negotiations to open dialogue around the circumstances leading to the tragic loss of innocent lives.
The Russian Federation must be held to account for its conduct in the downing of MH17 over eastern Ukraine, which resulted in the tragic deaths of 298 passengers and crew, including 38 people who called Australia home.
Holding the Russian Federation responsible under international law is separate, but complementary to, the prosecution of the individual suspects, which is taking place under the Dutch national system.
|
– "The only conclusion we can reasonably now draw is that Russia was directly involved in the downing of MH17," Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Friday—a day after investigators concluded the missile system used to bring the plane down over eastern Ukraine in 2014 belonged to the Russian military. Dutch foreign minister Stef Blok said much the same at a news conference at The Hague, per Reuters, adding that the Netherlands and Australia "call on Russia to accept its responsibility and cooperate fully with the process to establish the truth and achieve justice for the victims." Blok said the two countries would seek compensation from Russia, which they hope to engage in talks before possibly presenting a case to an international court. A statement from the Dutch government, however, noted holding Russia accountable for violating international law would be a "complex legal process," per the BBC. Moscow has denied involvement in the disaster and says it "rejects the version of the Dutch investigators." The plane was shot down over territory controlled by pro-Russian separatist forces.
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Published on Feb 5, 2017
The full, uncut 84 Lumber Super Bowl promotional film. See a mother and daughter’s symbolic migrant journey towards becoming legal American citizens. Contains content deemed too controversial for the original ad and banned from broadcast. ||||| Watch Queue Queue
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Disconnect ||||| The controversial Super Bowl commercial for 84 Lumber about a migrant family crossing the border into the U.S. was not meant to be “pro-immigration” or a political statement at all, the company’s CEO Maggie Hardy Magerko tells PEOPLE.
Hardy Magerko, who took over ownership of her family’s $2.86 billion company in 1992, says she is a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump and believes that a border wall – which featured prominently in the TV spot – “is a need.”
“We need to keep America safe,” the 51-year-old executive tells PEOPLE. “America needs to be safe so you and I can have the liberty to talk… The wall, I think it represents, to me, security. I like security.”
Hardy Magerko says she personally helped develop the commercial and its striking imagery, but her personal beliefs don’t play into the commercial.
“This came from the heart and I didn’t do it for personal gain,” she says. “It’s not about me or my beliefs or the wall, it’s about individuals… treating people with dignity and respect.”
She adds: “My intent was to show, through the mother and daughter, that through struggles we will do anything we possibly can to make [the world] a better place for our children. If I thought the wall was negative, I wouldn’t have had the wall.”
“There were many interpretations, but the message is in the eyes of the beholder,” adds Hardy Magerko, who took over Pittsburgh-based 84 Lumber from her father, now 94. “So, depending on what struggles and what you’re going through… it’s all in [the viewers’] interpretation.”
The ad, which features imposing shots of a U.S. border wall, is 84 Lumber’s first Super Bowl commercial and was initially rejected by FOX for being “too controversial for TV.”
The 90-second TV spot broadcast on Sunday featured a Hispanic mother and daughter making the treacherous journey north to the U.S. It cut off before the ending and urged viewers to go online to watch the full story.
The online ad, which is over 5 minutes long, ends with the mother and daughter encountering a wall at the U.S. border (something that Trump has repeatedly promised to build) – then finding a door built with lumber from a contractor, which allows them to enter the country.
The tagline, at the end of the full commercial, reads: “The will to succeed is always welcome here.”
It had a polarizing effect on viewers. Some took to social media to congratulate 84 Lumber for the company’s support of human rights and progressive policies, while others saw it as encouraging illegal immigration into the U.S.
“Of course, you get social media backlash,” says Hardy Magerko. “But there was more positive than negative far and away.”
Some social media users even threatened to boycott the company.
Just saw #84Lumber #SuperBowl ad encouraging illegal immigration. DUMBEST BIZ MOVE EVER. Customers will leave and never return. #MAGA — Scott Ernst 🇺🇸 (@ScottErnst0331) February 6, 2017
I won't be shopping at 84 Lumber again. Too bad. Was great place. Adios. #SuperBowl #84Lumber — Thomas Paine (@Thomas1774Paine) February 6, 2017
And others, were confused (especially when their site crashed after the ad aired).
#84Lumber spot was NOT meant to endorse illegal immigration. It was to remind us that immigrants (legal or not) are HUMAN. #SuperBowl — Xavier Gonzalez Jr. (@xgonzalezjr) February 6, 2017
Doesn't get 84 Lumber ad that they paid $10 million for. Goes to website to find conclusion. Site is down. — Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 6, 2017
“At the core, this commercial is about individuals that truly are scared, whatever that might be, whatever their own journey might be,” says Hardy Magerko.
She goes on to say it was not her intent to use the commercial as a platform to make political noise.
Rob Schapiro, chief creative officer of 84 Lumber’s ad agency Brunner, echoes her reasoning for the creating this type of advertisement.
“The intention is about opportunity,” Schaprio, who filmed the spot in Mexico, tells PEOPLE. “We view it as a patriotic story. If you think of liberty’s torch as a beacon of light from the land of opportunity, that’s how we viewed that light coming through the door. Exactly the same as a beacon of light, we are a company of opportunity and a land of opportunity.
“It’s a very patriotic message. The flag that this young child creates, you see what that means to the mother and daughter. That’s the beacon of light we talk about.”
Some stories need to be heard. The journey of a lifetime begins 2.5.17. pic.twitter.com/PSAODyj3RL — 84 Lumber Company (@84LumberNews) February 2, 2017
Hardy Magerko watched the controversial ad play on Super Bowl Sunday with a few close friends in New York, while Schapiro watched from Pittsburgh, where both companies are headquartered. The two had worked closely together since November on casting and filming.
“We wanted to shake things up and I think we did!” says Hardy Magerko, still giddy from the explosive social media response. “During market research, we found that people 40 and younger don’t know about [the company], so I thought ‘Okay… let’s tie in what is going on in the world and, more importantly, with our beliefs and company ideals and [make a commercial].’ ”
.@Latinos4PP We will always support the American Dream. — 84 Lumber Company (@84LumberNews) February 6, 2017
Instead, Hardy Magerko says the advertisement, at its core, was meant to attract new, young employees for her growing business and to drum up new customers while “stimulating the housing market.”
“I believe in youth and being contemporary,” she explains. “We need to surround ourselves with people who will continue to build America and build 84 Lumber.”
Fortune favors the brave. pic.twitter.com/PczcVGjj94 — 84 Lumber Company (@84LumberNews) February 2, 2017
“I’m not taking a personal stance here. It’s about hope, it’s being patriotic,” says Hardy Magerko. “It’s hope for the future, it’s not knowing but standing together strong for all positives.” ||||| “We believe beer should be bipartisan, and did not set out to create a piece of political commentary,” Marcel Marcondes, vice president for marketing at Anheuser-Busch InBev, said in a statement. “However, we recognize that you can’t reference the American dream today without being part of the conversation.”
In 2012, a Chrysler Super Bowl ad featuring Clint Eastwood was seen by some conservatives as pandering to President Barack Obama after his administration’s bailout of automakers.
In the case of 84 Lumber, Ms. Magerko said that Fox vetoed the initial idea based on a storyboard of the proposed commercial from Brunner, the company’s ad agency. That document, which was reviewed by The New York Times, said the commercial would show a mother and daughter on “an arduous journey north,” as American workers built a large structure. Their journey appeared doomed once they reached the wall until a patriotic symbol inspired them to find a massive doorway — which is what the workers were creating all along. The final line: “The will to succeed will always be welcome here.”
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Ms. Magerko, who said she voted for Mr. Trump, said the ad was meant to recruit employees in their 20s “who really believe in American dreams.” She expressed concern about the labor shortage her company is facing. She said she had a welcoming attitude toward certain immigrants, while providing the caveat that she had faith in elected officials to “make the decisions to make us safe.”
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“I am all about those people who are willing to fight and go that extra yard to make a difference and then if they have to, you know, climb higher, go under, do whatever it takes to become a citizen. I am all for that 110 percent,” she said. “But do I want cartels? Hell, no.”
It has become a marketing strategy of sorts over the years to intentionally create a Super Bowl ad that will never make it to air, then capitalize on online traffic. But Ms. Magerko said that was not 84 Lumber’s plan, noting that the company is still showing the edited 90-second spot that Fox has approved.
Ms. Magerko said that some people might think she was “as crazy as a loon to go out there and buy this enormous ad that makes no sense financially.”
“I’m sure I’m going to have economists and all these people say she’s an idiot, and maybe I am,” she said. “But I’m an idiot that has some money now that my people made for me, and I owe it to them to say that they’re great and I need more people like them.”
A company representative confirmed that it spent more than $5 million on the ad, which was the average rate this year for 30 seconds.
The company, which draws about $2.9 billion in revenue a year and has been rebuilding since the recession, is keen on igniting a conversation around housing and labor, she said.
As for immigration and the wall, “We didn’t know this was going to be the hot topic six weeks ago,” Ms. Magerko said. “We knew it was a topic. We didn’t know it was the topic.” ||||| The Super Bowl was full of ads with strong messages about inclusion and acceptance. And that didn’t go over well with everyone on social media.
Some supporters of President Trump quickly called for boycotts of several companies, including Budweiser, 84 Lumber, Coca-Cola, Airbnb, Kia and Tiffany. Their ads had messages about immigration, equality and environmentalism.
Even the NFL drew calls for a boycott for having Lady Gaga as the halftime show performer. She has called Trump a bully, and she supported Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign.
84 Lumber’s commercial was seen as largely pro-immigration. It featured a Hispanic mother and daughter setting out on a harrowing journey from their home.
The television ad directed viewers to a supplement online. The online ad showed the mother and daughter arriving at the U.S. border to find a looming wall. They eventually notice that the wall has a huge door, and they walk through.
The ad led some Trump supporters to vow not to shop at the building supply company.
One interesting thing about the 84 Lumber boycott is that the company’s owner, Maggie Hardy Magerko, said she voted for Trump. In fact, having a huge door in the wall is something Trump himself mentioned repeatedly in campaign speeches.
A Budweiser commercial also triggered a backlash for being anti-Trump and pro-immigration. The ad showed Adolphus Busch, one of the founders of Anheuser-Busch, journeying to the United States as an immigrant, only to be told he was not welcome.
A spokesman for Budweiser said 78% of the social media reaction that the company tracked was positive.
Airbnb’s ad about acceptance said “we all belong” — regardless of religion or country of origin. It didn’t sit well with some Trump supporters.
Coca-Cola’s “It’s beautiful” ad, which has aired since 2014, featured “America the Beautiful” sung in several languages.
Coca-Cola said the ad “promotes optimism, inclusion and celebrates humanity” and did not address Trump’s immigration order.
Kia’s commercial starred Melissa McCarthy, who appeared this weekend on “Saturday Night Live” and mocked the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer. The Kia ad, set to the song “Holding Out for a Hero,” showed McCarthy encountering slapstick obstacles as she tried to save trees and ice caps.
A hair product company called It’s a 10 ran an ad that was far from subtle. Its message? “America, we’re in for at least four years of awful hair.” The idea was that we need great hair — all types of it.
CEO Carolyn Aronson said the response to the It’s a 10 ad “has been overwhelmingly positive.”
“We are not a political brand,” she said in a statement. “We created this ad to introduce the world to our brand in a lighthearted way. The focus is on embracing the diversity of America.”
Lady Gaga drew calls for boycotts both for the halftime show and for her spot for Tiffany & Co. Gaga’s Super Bowl show conveyed a message of inclusion, and she chose to sing the lyrics of her hit “Born This Way,” which promote LGBT equality.
The other companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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– The company owner who signed off on one of the Super Bowl's most controversial ads says she is pro-President Trump and pro-border wall—despite the 84 Lumber ad's depiction of a Hispanic mother and daughter finding a door in the wall. Maggie Hardy Magerko tells People that the ad wasn't supposed to be pro-immigration or even political, but to show that we can make the world a better place for our children through struggle. "If I thought the wall was negative, I wouldn't have had the wall," says Magerko, who believes a border wall is needed "to keep America safe." A company press release describes the ad as part of a recruitment campaign, with the door symbolizing "the doors that 84 Lumber opens for its employees." "Even President Trump has said there should be a 'big beautiful door in the wall so that people can come into this country legally,'" Magerko says. "It’s not about the wall. It's about the door in the wall." She tells the New York Times that she was "flabbergasted" by Fox's decision not to show the ad in full because it was deemed too political. If people have to "climb higher, go under, do whatever it takes to become a citizen. I am all for that 110%," she says. "But do I want cartels? Hell, no." KTLA reports that Trump supporters have called for boycotts of 84 Lumber and other brands with ads seen as pro-immigration, including Airbnb and Budweiser. (Airbnb followed up its ad with a campaign to house 100,000 people in need.)
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PARIS (AP) — Monaco is expecting a double dose of royal babies this month — but only one twin will get to be the principality's future ruler.
In this Jan. 14, 2011 file photo, Denmark's future monarch's Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary present their newborn twins during their first public appearance in Copenhagen, Denmark. A double... (Associated Press)
This Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014 photo shows editor-in-chief of the celebrity weekly Point de Vue, Adelaide de Clermont-Tonnerre, during an interview with the Associated Press in Paris. Monaco is expecting... (Associated Press)
In this Nov. 19, 2014 file photo, Prince Albert II of Monaco kisses his wife Princess Charlene on the balcony of the Monaco palace during the Monaco's national day ceremony. Monaco is expecting a double... (Associated Press)
Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene, 36, is giving birth to twins but the doctor delivering them will have no more than a symbolic hand in deciding the destiny of the Grimaldi dynasty, authorities say.
Prince Albert II, the 56-year-old son of the late American actress Princess Grace, had some subjects worried by his long bachelorhood and his lack of an heir since his two previous children were born out of wedlock and are not eligible for the throne. Then prince married Charlene Wittstock, a Zimbabwe-born, South Africa-raised former Olympic swimmer, in 2011.
Now the tiny royal state on the Riviera has two reasons to rejoice.
"This is going to create an immense joy. Immense!" said Monaco resident Isabelle Roux. "They are awaited like the messiah ... Everyone is talking only about that."
"Two babies for the price of one. I think it's very good for the image," said Adelaide de Clermont-Tonnerre, editor-in-chief of the celebrity weekly Point de Vue. "With twins, there's always an extra interest."
The babies will be the first twins in the royal household, which dates to the 13th century, but they will not share the throne. Albert says the first one out will be first in line, unless a boy and a girl emerge, in which case the boy becomes the royal heir, reflecting the male priority of Monaco's laws of succession.
In principle, there's no medical reason a doctor would have an active role in deciding which newborn is delivered first, even in the case of a cesarean section, an expert said.
"The obstetrician will always deliver first the twin that presents itself first when the uterus is opened at the time of cesarean section," said Dr. Patrick O'Brien, spokesman for Britain's Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. "We don't decide in advance which twin to deliver first."
Albert said he doesn't know the sex of the twins yet.
"It is one of the beautiful surprises that life offers us," he told BFM-TV.
Only one woman has ever reigned over Monaco, Princess Louise-Hippolyte, but she died months after assuming the throne in 1731.
In 2002, with no heirs in sight, Monaco's parliament quietly changed its constitution to allow royal power to pass from a reigning prince with no descendants to his siblings — potentially Albert's two sisters. That ensured the continuation of the Grimaldi dynasty, one of the oldest royal houses in Europe, even if Albert never produced an heir.
Now the palace has decreed that 42 cannon shots will sound in December with the births, instead of the 21 that would boom for a single baby.
Other dynasties have produced royal twins. The crown prince and crown princess of Denmark became the parents of royal twins in 2011 — a boy and a girl. The boy, Prince Vincent, is fourth in the line of succession, ahead of sister Princess Josephine — but only because he emerged from the womb first.
___
AP medical writer Maria Cheng in London and Thomas Adamson and Bastien Inzaurralde in Paris contributed. ||||| MONACO (AP) — Palace officials say Monaco's Princess Charlene has given birth to royal twins, a girl and a boy.
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In this Jan. 14, 2011 file photo, Denmark's future monarch's Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary present their newborn twins during their first public appearance in Copenhagen, Denmark. A double... (Associated Press)
This Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014 photo shows editor-in-chief of the celebrity weekly Point de Vue, Adelaide de Clermont-Tonnerre, during an interview with the Associated Press in Paris. Monaco is expecting... (Associated Press)
In this Nov. 19, 2014 file photo, Prince Albert II of Monaco kisses his wife Princess Charlene on the balcony of the Monaco palace during the Monaco's national day ceremony. Monaco is expecting a double... (Associated Press)
The girl was born first, but the boy will be the principality's future ruler.
The royal twins Gabriella Therese Marie and Jacques Honore Rainier — born Wednesday to Charlene, 36, and Prince Albert II, 56 — are heirs to the centuries-old Grimaldi dynasty that rules the wealthy principality.
Cannon fire was programed to mark the babies' birth, the first time twins have been born to Monaco's royal family since its founding in the 13th century.
Monaco is a two-square kilometer (0.8 square mile) enclave of ritzy apartments and luxury shops on the French Riviera with a population of around 30,000.
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– Brace yourself, planet Earth: There's been a royal birth. Not that one. Rather, the blessed and royal event has taken place in Monaco, where Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene have today welcomed twins, a boy named Jacques Honore Rainier and a girl named Gabriella Therese Marie, reports the AP. There's a little drama tied to their birth: While Gabriella was born first, it is Jacques who will be the future ruler of Monaco, reflecting what the AP calls "the male priority of Monaco's laws of succession." Cannon fire greeted their birth; they're the first twins born to the principality's royal family since Monaco was founded in the 13th century. "They are awaited like the messiah," one resident said ahead of their birth. "Everyone is talking only about that." Albert, 56, has two older children who were born out of wedlock and are thus ineligible for the throne; the twins are the first children for Charlene, 36. In case you've forgotten, Charlene tried to flee her wedding to Albert three times, and when that didn't work, they went on the honeymoon from hell.
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The Catholic Church inched closer to giving Communion to remarried divorcees under a measure narrowly approved Saturday at a contentious meeting of priests, bishops and cardinals at the Vatican.
The synod’s final statement, meanwhile, said there is “no foundation whatsoever” for homosexual marriage, while declaring that gays should be treated with respect and without discrimination.
The issue of giving Communion to remarried Catholics served as a battle line for conservatives and progressives at the synod, with the former defending church laws while the latter pushed for more merciful treatment — an ongoing theme of Pope Francis's tenure.
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“In the course of this synod, the different opinions which were freely expressed — and at times, unfortunately, not in entirely well-meaning ways — certainly led to a rich and lively dialogue,” Pope Francis said in his final speech to the sometimes argumentative synod after the voting concluded.
Pope Francis Gregorio Borgia / Associated Press Pope Francis speaks in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on June 14, 2015. Pope Francis speaks in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on June 14, 2015. (Gregorio Borgia / Associated Press) (Gregorio Borgia / Associated Press)
The closely watched measure says priests could bring remarried divorcees back into the life of the church on a case-by-case basis. No clear green light was given to offer them Communion, but the language could give Pope Francis a precedent to ease rules in the future.
Officially, the pope has the last word on the work of the gathering and is free to accept or ignore its advice. In the conclusion of the synod document, the 270 prelates stated that the document was for the pope’s attention and that members “humbly” asked him to issue his own document.
On Saturday, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said he had “no idea” if and when Francis would issue a definitive document.
The church traditionally has excluded those who remarry from Communion because it sees the first marriage as remaining valid, meaning the person is living in sin.
With a two-thirds majority required in voting for each of the 94 points in the synod’s final document, the measure on the remarried won 178 “yes” votes, one more than the 177 needed, while 80 prelates voted against it.
A second measure that also discusses divorcees, and which scraped through with 187 “yes” votes, said priests needed to look at various ways the remarried are now excluded from the life of the church and decide “which can be overcome.”
“The document does not specifically mention their participation in the sacrament, but it puts it on the table, so it is a success for those who wanted to open up the discussion,” said Austen Ivereigh, a biographer of Pope Francis. “This allows both sides to move on with integrity — it’s a very Catholic result,” he said.
“Remarried divorcees may now be invited to take part as catechists, even if Communion will be left until later,” he added.
In his final speech to synod fathers, Pope Francis, who was given a standing ovation, suggested that getting prelates from around the world to debate family issues in a frank fashion was an achievement in itself.
“It was about showing the vitality of the Catholic Church, which is not afraid to stir dulled consciences or to soil her hands with lively and frank discussions about the family,” he said.
But he also had tough words for conservative bishops, saying the aim of the synod was “about laying bare the closed hearts” who “sit in the chair of Moses and judge, sometimes with superiority and superficiality, difficult cases and wounded families.” He also talked of battling “conspiracy theories” and “blinkered hearts.”
The open challenges to the pope’s views on the merciful treatment of Catholics prompted American Cardinal Donald Wuerl to suggest some inside the synod “just don’t like this Pope.”
The synod did not make any changes to church thinking on homosexuality. A single paragraph dedicated to the subject suggested that progressives chose not to take on conservatives. While stating that homosexuals should be treated with respect and without discrimination, the paragraph said there was “no foundation whatsoever” for homosexual marriage, which “could not even remotely” be compared to heterosexual marriage.
That marked a sharp contrast in tone with a paragraph inserted into a provisional document last year issued during a preliminary synod on the family. The paragraph, titled “Welcoming homosexual persons,” stated that homosexuals had “gifts and qualities” and should be offered a “fraternal space” in the church.
Although the words indicated no shift from Catholicism’s doctrinal opposition to homosexual sex or gay unions, it was interpreted by many analysts as a change in the Vatican’s traditionally tough tone on homosexuality.
But the paragraph was excluded from the final document put to a vote at the meeting last year, as a result of pressure from conservatives.
Kington is a special correspondent.
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Georgia man faces prison -- again -- for stealing sea turtle eggs ||||| VATICAN CITY (AP) — Declaring that "today is a time of mercy," Pope Francis on Sunday closed a historic meeting of bishops that approved an important new direction in welcoming divorced and civilly remarried Catholics into the church.
Pope Francis holds the Gospel Book as he celebrates a Mass to mark the end of the Synod of bishops, in St.Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015. Catholic bishops called Saturday for a... (Associated Press)
In this photo taken with a fish-eye lens Pope Francis celebrates a Mass to mark the end of the Synod of bishops, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015. Catholic bishops called... (Associated Press)
Pope Francis celebrates a Mass to mark the end of the Synod of bishops, in St.Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) (Associated Press)
Pope Francis holds the Gospel Book as he celebrates a Mass to mark the end of the Synod of bishops, in St.Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015. Catholic bishops called Saturday for a... (Associated Press)
In this photo taken with a fish-eye lens Pope Francis celebrates a Mass to mark the end of the Synod of bishops, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015. Catholic bishops called... (Associated Press)
The synod's endorsement, by a single vote, of Francis' call for a more merciful, less judgmental church was a clear victory for Francis and the progressive prelates who have been seeking wiggle room in church teaching to allow remarried Catholics to receive Communion. Conservatives had objected, citing church doctrine, but they couldn't muster the votes needed to block passage of the final document.
With the badly divided church hierarchy before him in St. Peter's Basilica, Francis took veiled aim Sunday at those in the church who place more importance on doctrine and law than on God's mercy and forgiveness.
He warned them of the risk of "becoming habitually unmoved by grace," of turning a cold shoulder to God's most wounded children and of a "spiritual illusion" that doesn't let them see the reality of their flock and respond to it.
"A faith that does not know how to root itself in the life of people remains arid and, rather than oases, creates other deserts," he said, adding that moments of suffering and conflict are precisely the occasions for God to show mercy. "Today is a time of mercy!"
Without changing church doctrine, the 275 synod "fathers" on Saturday approved a 94-point final document on responding better to the needs of today's Catholic families. The text covered a host of issues — migration, poverty, single parents and polygamy — but the most disputed section concerned whether civilly remarried Catholics can receive Communion.
Church teaching holds that without an annulment, these Catholics are essentially committing adultury and cannot receive Communion.
While the document doesn't chart a specific path to receiving the sacraments as originally sought by liberal prelates — and doesn't even mention the word Communion — it opens the door to case-by-case exceptions by citing the role of discernment and individual conscience in spiritual direction.
The key paragraph says a case-by-case approach is necessary when dealing with remarriage since not everyone bears the same responsibility for the failure of the first marriage. It passed with only one vote more than the two-thirds majority necessary.
Its passage will give Francis the room to maneuver if he wants to push the issue further in a future document of his own. German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who spearheaded the German theological initiative that was decisive to getting the majority, said he hoped that Francis would issue it during his upcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy, which starts Dec. 8.
British Cardinal Vincent Nichols said the synod marked a "decisive" moment for the church in reasserting the role that pastoral practice, more than doctrine, must play in accompanying the faithful.
"Not everything is a matter of doctrine. Not everything is decided by doctrinal disputes," Nichols told reporters Sunday. "There is a richness of the tradition of the church and its pastoral practice, which we have to recover and make central again."
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Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield ||||| After a three-week bishops meeting, or synod, on issues including divorce and homosexuality, Pope Francis criticizes church leaders who "bury their heads in the sand" on matters pertaining to family issues. (Reuters)
After a three-week bishops meeting, or synod, on issues including divorce and homosexuality, Pope Francis criticizes church leaders who "bury their heads in the sand" on matters pertaining to family issues. (Reuters)
Pope Francis on Sunday appeared to lecture church elders at the closing of a landmark summit on the family here, suggesting they should not be quick to exclude a broad array of people deserving of God’s grace.
In a Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica to mark the end of the three-week summit — known as a synod — Francis seemed to target narrowness, focusing his homily on the biblical story of a blind man named Bartimaeus whom Jesus engages during a journey.
“None of the disciples stopped, as Jesus did,” Francis said in what at times appeared to be a scolding tone.
He continued, “if Bartimaeus was blind, they were deaf. His problem was not their problem. This can be a danger for us. In the face of constant problems, it is better to move on, instead of letting ourselves be bothered. In this way, just like the disciples, we are with Jesus but we do not think like him.”
“We can speak about him, work for him, but still live far from his heart which is focused on those who are wounded,” the pontiff said. “This is the temptation of the spirituality of mirage.”
He added, “A faith that does not know how to grow roots into the lives of people stays barren. And instead of an oasis, it creates more deserts.”
Francis’s blunt message came after divided clerics at the synod summit echoed the more inclusive tone of Francis on Saturday, extending a more welcoming hand to divorced and unmarried couples but stopping short of calling for clear alterations in church policies. The synod marked the culmination of a two-year process to recalibrate the faith’s approach to families in the 21st century. Under Francis’s direction, bishops and cardinals set a new precedent by tackling issues once considered taboo in the Roman Catholic Church.
Yet the significant opposition in the synod to rapid changes in rules also suggested how far off Catholics may yet be from seeing Francis’s revolutionary style turned into practice.
The document, in some respects, went further than some thought possible earlier in the week. But even top clerics conceded that liberal Catholics with high expectations of change under Francis might still come away disappointed.
“We have to be always cautious that there aren’t false expectations,” said Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington. “One false expectation is that Catholic teachings would be changed. That is not going to happen.”
While a bellwether of the hierarchy’s thinking from its most heated gathering since the reforming Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, the synod’s final communique amounts only to a list of recommendations for Francis. Rather than overhaul church doctrine — or the fundamental truths and teachings of the church — the question largely facing Francis is whether to alter procedures and empower bishops and priests to make more independent decisions on the ground.
[A growing Catholic divide over divorce and homosexuality]
In perhaps the most significant pronouncement, clerics sought to find more ways for divorced Catholics to participate in church life. Yet, to assuage the concerns of conservatives, the question of whether a door should be opened for divorced and remarried Catholics — who the church teaches are living in a state of adultery — to take communion at Mass was left vague.
Liberals argued that the language paved the way for Francis to endorse such a shift, while conservatives took heart that it does not explicitly call for one. Such a change, however, would reflect a practice already happening, as some parish priests have decided to offer communion to such couples despite church policy.
Inclusion of the clause came after a breakthrough among the German cardinals. Cardinal Walter Kasper, a liberal lion with the pope’s ear who championed a path to communion for such couples through penance, came to terms on language with Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, an archconservative. The result was wording that could be broadly interpreted without directly mentioning the right to return to communion.
In a church that teaches that homosexuality is “intrinsically disordered,” the document also recognized the “dignity” of gays and lesbians. But it stopped far short of endorsing the most liberal proposals on same-sex couples — including one by a Belgian bishop to recognize the spiritual value of such unions. In fact, the synod declared that same-sex unions could not “remotely” be compared with “God’s design for matrimony and family.”
The synod was more embracing of cohabiting heterosexuals, stating that some couples may not marry in the church for cultural or economic reasons. Their bonds, the synod concluded, could nevertheless involve the kind of “lasting” and “reliable” ties that can lead to marriage.
In a speech after receiving a list of 94 recommendations from the synod of bishops and cardinals, Francis acknowledged the rifts among clerics, noting that differences of opinion were freely expressed and “at times, unfortunately, not in entirely well-meaning ways.”
He noted the task ahead as he seeks to find a Solomonesque way to bridge those differences, particularly given the cultural gulfs among the world’s more than 1 billion Catholics. They include those living in the most liberal parishes of Western Europe and the United States as well as far more conservative ones, often based in parts of the developing world where the Catholic Church is growing most.
“We have seen that what is normal for a bishop on one continent is considered strange and almost scandalous for a bishop on another,” Francis said.
[A pope for all seasons]
Yet the ambiguity of the synod also puts Francis in a highly difficult position. If he fails to change the status quo enough, he risks disappointing liberal Catholics — as well as many non-Catholics — who have heralded him as an agent of change.
But going too far beyond the synod’s recommendations could alienate many in his divided hierarchy, triggering an even stronger backlash among conservatives, some of whom are openly questioning the direction of his papacy.
Cardinals and bishops here were divided over what course they thought the pope would take.
“He has proven himself to be a man of surprises,” said Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, Australia.
Liberals at the synod were being pragmatic, saying they were impressed they got as far as they did. “This synod has put an end to judging,” said the Rev. Lucas Van Looy, the bishop of Ghent, Belgium. “This is a welcoming church. . . . For me this is the word that has been most important in the synod: tenderness.”
The synod on family issues marked the Vatican’s second in two years, with a meeting last year touching off the debates on divorce and homosexuality. Unlike last year, when several controversial clauses failed to garner a required two-thirds majority, all the recommendations made this time reached that bar. But some said that was partly because of an attempt to make the language more palatable and ambiguous. Signaling the intensity of the debate, there were more than 1,300 amendments proposed by the more than 260 delegates.
This year, homosexuality became less a focus than divorce. But some conservative bishops argued that the synod was being hijacked by liberals overwhelmingly focused on “Western” or “Eurocentric” issues.
Bishop Joseph Anthony Zziwa, a conservative Ugandan bishop, said there had been far too much talk about homosexuality, which is criminalized in his country, as well as divorce. Bishops even disagreed initially on the definition of a family — which in Africa, he said, often means extended families, compared with nuclear ones in Europe and the United States.
Africans more generally, he said, had far bigger problems .
“You keep asking someone from Nigeria to tell me about homosexuality, to tell me about divorce, when five of his children have been abducted by Boko Haram? You think that person has time to talk about that?” he said.
The divisions were geographic as well as ideological — with conservatives representing proportionately higher numbers in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. Some bishops said they were surprised by how open some of the Italian and Spanish-speaking delegates were to reform.
But there were limits. Bishop Johan Bonny of Antwerp, Belgium, said that when he raised the idea in his working group at the synod that committed same-sex relationships could have spiritual value, “bad feelings came up.”
In the end, he said he was pleased that the synod did not delve deeper into the issue of homosexuality.
“That is a point for next time,” he said. “Better to leave it for later than discuss it in a hot and bad atmosphere.”
Correction: An earlier version of this report incorrectly described the Rev. Lucas Van Looy as the bishop of Tielen, Belgium. He is the bishop of Ghent, Belgium.
Read more:
Pope Francis in America
How Catholics feel about abortion, immigration and gay marriage
When popes hit the road, here’s where they go
Stefano Pitrelli in Vatican City contributed to this report.
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– Pope Francis closed out a three-week bishops' synod on Sunday with something of a victory lap, appearing to chastise conservative Catholic leaders for excluding swaths of the faithful, including divorced and gay Catholics. "A faith that does not know how to grow roots into the lives of people stays barren. And instead of an oasis, it creates more deserts," he said, at times appearing "to lecture," as the Washington Post puts it. "Today is a time of mercy," he said, per the AP. Francis made significant headway in his quest for a more inclusive, forgiving church, reports the New York Times, with the synod opening "church doors ... just a crack" by way of clearing the way to offer communion to those who have divorced or are unmarried but living together. But the synod, though the Times notes it emphasized that gays should be respected, swung those church doors soundly shut on gay marriage, reports the Los Angeles Times, declaring it to have "no foundation whatsoever." Consensus seems to be that while the church tacked to the left, it did so tacitly in deference to conservatives. But the pope is where the rubber meets the road, notes the New York Times: The synod asked him to release his own paper on the family, which he's expected to do and which could even be presented as an encyclical. That process, however, could take up to a year.
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A young woman from Moscow has been critically wounded after trying to take a selfie with a pistol pressed against her temple. It’s only the latest in a series of fatal and near-fatal selfies.
The 21-year-old employee was at her office, when she took a 9-millimeter rubber-bulletpistol and decided to take a selfie. However, she accidentally pressed the trigger, Interfax reported.
“Veronika asked the guard to give her the weapon to take a photo, and he didn’t refuse. She took the pistol and started making the selfie, and shot herself in the head by accident,” one of the witnesses told LifeNews.
After the incident, the guard said that the woman pressed the trigger and the bullet ricocheted off a wall into her head.
An ambulance was called to the scene, and the victim was taken to the hospital. Medics describe her state as critical, and she is currently in intensive care.
READ MORE: Selfie sticks banned at British National Gallery, Palace of Versailles
The owner of the gun is now facing up to six months behind bars for negligent weapon possession leading to injury, RIA Novosti news agency reported.
“The letter of the law states that firearms, with the owner absent, should be kept in a special safe, beyond the reach of those not authorized to use it,” a source told the agency.
The string of bizarre incidents involving selfies includes people doing more and more outlandish things so that their photos stand out from the crowd.
On Saturday, a Singaporean man died in Bali after falling off a cliff while taking a selfie. Mohammed Aslam Shahul, 21, lost his balance and fell into the sea off a cliff while on vacation with his friends.
“He slipped and fell into the ocean. He apparently couldn’t swim,” local police said. The man’s body was discovered in the sea at a depth of five meters.
READ MORE: Shenzhen birdmen: Two daredevils, one mega-tall tower and a selfie stick (VIDEO)
Just over a week ago, a teenager was killed in the northeastern Romanian town of Iasi when she was trying to take the “ultimate selfie” on top of a train. Anna Ursu, 18, was posing for the selfie with a friend, when her leg reportedly touched a live wire above, and 27,000 volts were sent through her body.
A passer-by had previously warned the two about the possible consequences. He heard a loud bang as the young woman was electrocuted and rushed over to try to help, but couldn’t put out the flames, and called an ambulance. The doctors couldn’t save Ursu’s life.
Ursu’s friend was instantly thrown off the train, and later told police she and her friend were trying to take the “ultimate selfie.” ||||| Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.
Tnoutdoors9/YouTube screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET
I'm not going to say this has to stop.
For the simple reason that it won't. And any amount of cajoling or pleading won't make a jot of difference.
People will try and take ever more "creative" selfies and things will go wrong.
In this instance, a 21-year-old Russian woman was reportedly in the throes of taking a selfie while pointing a 9mm handgun at her head. I don't know if this signaled that she was having a bad day or a good one.
However, what resulted is the gun went off and she is now in a serious condition.
Agence France-Presse reports that she was in her office and found the gun, which had been left behind by a security guard.
While wishing her a full recovery, I wondered whether her act was a first. Sadly, I remembered that it wasn't.
Last August, a 21-year-old Mexican man died after shooting himself in the head while taking a gun-toting selfie.
The obsession with cell phones, texting and selfies won't end. People have fallen into Lake Michigan while texting. They've driven into lakes while texting at the wheel. It's not surprising, given an AT&T survey published earlier this week in which 17 percent of people admitted to taking selfies or other photos while driving.
On Friday, a Singaporean man died after losing his balance while taking a selfie on the edge of a cliff in Bali.
It's all both sad and sadly avoidable. ||||| A young Russian woman accidentally shot herself in the head with a pistol while posing for a selfie, Russian news agencies reported Friday, citing police.
The 21-year-old found a 9mm handgun left behind by a security guard at her Moscow office and decided to pose for a photograph holding it, a police spokesman told Interfax news agency.
While taking a selfie with one hand, she accidentally pressed the gun's trigger, shooting herself in the temple at close range.
The incident which happened Thursday but was confirmed by police on Friday, led to the woman being hospitalised in a Moscow clinic.
The victim was in a "serious condition" on Friday, a spokeswoman for Moscow's Sklifosovsky hospital told RIA Novosti state news agency.
Police are investigating how the woman, who was an office worker, got hold of the gun, a city police spokesman told RIA Novosti.
The security guard had left the gun at work two weeks earlier before going on holiday, the police spokesman said.
The trend for posting selfie photographs online led by celebrities such as Kim Kardashian has prompted risky behaviour worldwide.
A survey this month found 17 percent of Americans had taken a selfie while driving.
US investigators in February said a pilot's repeated snapping of selfie photos caused a small plane to crash, killing both people on board.
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– A Russian woman posing for a selfie with (what else?) a loaded gun pointed at her head accidentally pulled the trigger and shot herself in the temple, reports AFP via the Hindustan Times. The 21-year-old office worker was apparently using a 9mm handgun that a security guard had left behind. The story, which originated with Russian news agencies quoting police, adds that she pulled the trigger at work in Moscow on Thursday and was in "serious condition" the next day (although RT.com reports that she's in critical condition and wounded herself by firing a bullet that ricocheted off a wall and hit her in the head). Now police are investigating how the woman was able to get the guard's gun; a police spokesman says the guard left the weapon there two weeks earlier and went away on holiday. "I'm not going to say this has to stop," writes Chris Matyszczyk at CNET. "For the simple reason that it won't. ... People will try and take ever more 'creative' selfies and things will go wrong." Examples abound, including a teen atop a train and a crashed airplane pilot and passenger who all died after snapping selfies. On the lighter side, a senator went "whole hog to get a pig selfie."
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(KUTV) A woman was killed this morning when she was pulled into an industrial mixer at a grocery store.
Sandy police said Carmen "Jackie" Lindhart was working at a bakery mixer at a Reams store in Sandy when something happened that pulled her into the mixer. A co-worker heard her screaming and ran to the machine and shut it off but the augers didn't immediately power down, as per routine operation.
Lindhart died on the scene from her injuries. The accident happened around 10 a.m.
According to Sandy police Sgt. Dean Carriger, it doesn't appear that there is any criminal element to the death but the investigation is ongoing by police and OSHA.
The Reams is located at 8725 South on Highland Dr.
Follow us on Twitter @KUTV2News and LIKE us on Facebook for breaking news, updates and more.
||||| A 45-year-old grocery store employee in Utah died after she was dragged into an industrial-sized bakery mixing machine, officials said.
Investigators are still trying to determine how Carmen "Jackie" Lindhardt was pulled into the mixer in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy on Wednesday morning, Sandy Police Sgt. Dean Carriger told NBC News.
Lindhardt was using the appliance in the bakery department of a Reams Food Store when she became caught on a moving part that rotates to combine ingredients, Carriger said.
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A coworker heard her scream and quickly ran over and shut off the mixer but it was too late.
Lindhardt, of Murray, Utah, was pronounced dead at the scene at the Highland Drive branch of the Utah-based grocery chain. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday morning.
"It was possibly some loose clothing, or she might have reached into the machine for an unknown reason and gotten caught," Carriger said. "We're trying to determine the exact cause at this point."
A sign at the store's bakery said it was "temporarily closed" on Wednesday. NBC News was not able to reach anyone at Reams Food Store for comment early Thursday.
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– A Utah grocery store worker is dead after what appears to be a gruesome workplace accident. Carmen "Jackie" Lindhardt, 45, was working at the bakery of a Ream's Food Store in Sandy, outside Salt Lake City, around 10am Wednesday when police say she was dragged into an industrial-sized mixing machine. "It was possibly some loose clothing, or she might have reached into the machine for an unknown reason and gotten caught," a police officer tells NBC News. Another employee heard the woman scream and turned off the mixer, though KUTV reports the machine's augers aren't designed to stop immediately. Lindhardt was pronounced dead on the scene; an autopsy was scheduled for Thursday morning. "We're trying to determine the exact cause at this point," the officer says, though he adds police don't suspect anything criminal occurred. A sign posted at the store Wednesday said the bakery was "temporarily closed."
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How did this take me so long to post to the page? That, I can’t really answer. Clearly it slipped my mind, but I hope everyone saw it back around the New Year on Facebook or Youtube! Anyway, we hit the road on Christmas Eve and had dinner at Fat Patty’s in Huntington. The food… ||||| By Chelsea Griswold
A man’s dying wish for an act of unexpected kindness has blossomed into a year’s worth of donations and giving on his behalf.
A year ago, Seth Collins and his parents began a mission to fulfill the dying wish of Aaron Collins – Seth’s younger brother – to leave a stranger a $500 tip. After the video for the first tip went viral, money from donors started pouring in for Seth Collins to do it again. And the one-time act of kindness developed into something much more.
One unsuspecting server at Thre3e Wise Men Brewing Company in Indianapolis received a $500 tip Monday afternoon, the 54th tip given in Aaron’s memory.
“It couldn’t have come at a better time in my life,” server Beth Foster told ABC News’ Indianapolis, affiliate WRTV. “I’m a teacher just looking for a job and it’s kind of hard right now.”
Seth Collins has collected $60,000, and plans to travel to all 50 states and give out a $500 tip each week until the money is gone. Indiana was the 17th state Seth has traveled to as part of his mission. Seth chronicles each tip on a blog dedicated to Aaron’s memory.
“It never gets old. I knew about the third one that it was never going to get old,” Seth Collins said. ||||| Random Acts Of Tipping
Since his brother's death a year ago, Seth Collins has been touring the country giving $500 tips to restaurant servers, the last request in his brother's will. He aims to hit all 50 states by the end of the year. Collins speaks to Weekend Edition Sunday host Rachel Martin.
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Making a living serving food in a restaurant can be a tough business. With most of your income coming from tips, customer service is of paramount importance. If you treat the customers particularly well, you might get a generous tip. But at most restaurants that is not likely to get anywhere near the $500 mark. But for one frequent diner, a $500 tip is now the norm. Seth Collins is travelling around the country giving $500 to restaurant servers in every state - and he's carrying out these seemingly random acts of generosity as a tribute to his brother who died a year ago today. Seth Collins joins us from his home in Kentucky. Seth, thanks for being here.
SETH COLLINS: Thank you for having me.
MARTIN: So, why is this the way that you've chosen to honor your brother?
COLLINS: Well, when we found his will, the last thing in it was that we go out to dinner and leave an awesome tip. And he said I'm not talking about 25 percent. I mean, $500 for pizza. So, we did that. And raised the money from friends and family just to make it happen. And then I thought I would just share the video with friends and family. The first video went viral and people ended up donating up to now over $60,000. It only seemed fair once I started thinking about that to try to give back to as many places as I could.
MARTIN: I wonder was your brother in the food service industry? I mean, what was his connection to this idea?
COLLINS: He had always been a generous tipper. It's actually funny. My mom had just told me a story that even when he was young, when he just had an allowance and no job, is he saw that they didn't leave what he considered a generous tip. He would take a couple dollars of his own money and toss that on the table to help bolster the amount of the tip.
MARTIN: And what is the reaction from the waiter or the waitress in the moment?
COLLINS: Different people, I think, react to it in their own way. Some people, when they shocked, sort of shut down. It's just they're trying to bottle in that emotion so that they don't start crying or something. And they let that out later.
MARTIN: And what do you do when it's all over?
COLLINS: I'm really not sure what I'll do. I'm sure I'll keep giving whatever money we have. A lot of people have asked will I take it international? And I really want all the money to be given to the waiters and waitresses rather than spending it on traveling to Ireland so that I can leave a 500 euro tip there.
MARTIN: Seth Collins. He is traveling around the country giving out $500 tips in honor of his brother, Aaron. He joined us from his home in Kentucky, with his cat in the background. Thanks so much, Seth.
COLLINS: Thank you.
MARTIN: This is NPR News.
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– When Aaron Collins died a year ago, the 30-year-old's will ended with an unusual request. "The last thing in it was that we go out to dinner and leave an awesome tip," brother Seth explains to NPR. "And he said, 'I'm not talking about 25%. I mean, $500 for pizza.'" Seth and his parents raised money from friends and family to carry out the 30-year-old's wish, and made a video about it—which went viral. More people started donating to the cause, giving more than $60,000 to date, so Seth set out on a quest to leave $500 tips in each of the 50 states. He's blogging about the odyssey on Aaron's Last Wish. The 54th tip was handed out last week in Indianapolis, reports ABC News, which has video of the emotional waitress's reaction. Indiana is the 17th state Seth has hit, and he says the experience "never gets old." He's been handing out tips on a weekly basis, and is planning a four-month trip to hit the rest of the states. Aaron "had always been a generous tipper," Seth explains. As a kid, if he wasn't happy with the tip his parents left, "he would take a couple dollars of his own money and toss that on the table to help bolster the amount of the tip." (In other tip-related news, here's who gets your Starbucks tips.)
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn's Senate campaign announcement ad has been blocked by Twitter over a statement the abortion rights opponent makes about the sale of fetal tissue for medical research.
Blackburn, who is running for the seat being opened by the retirement of Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, boasts in the ad that she "stopped the sale of baby body parts." A Twitter representative told the candidate's vendors on Monday that the statement was "deemed an inflammatory statement that is likely to evoke a strong negative reaction:
Twitter said the Blackburn campaign would be allowed to run the rest of the video if the flagged statement is omitted. While the decision keeps Blackburn from paying to promote the video on Twitter, it doesn't keep it from being linked from YouTube and other platforms.
Blackburn took to Twitter to urge supporters to re-post her video and join her in "standing up to Silicon Valley."
Blackburn was the chair of a Republican-run House panel created to investigate Planned Parenthood and the world of fetal tissue research that earlier this year urged Congress to halt federal payments to the women's health organization. Democrats said the GOP probe had unearthed no wrongdoing and wasted taxpayers' money in an abusive investigation.
The panel was created after anti-abortion activists released secretly recorded videos in 2015 showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing how they sometimes provide fetal tissue to researchers, which is legal if no profit is made.
Fetal tissue research has strong backing among scientists for its value in studying Down syndrome, eye disease and other problems. But Blackburn's committee report said fetal tissue "makes a vanishingly small contribution to clinical and research efforts, if it contributes at all," and recommended curbing federal grants for such research.
Blackburn's nearly two-and-a-half minute video features footage of her shooting a gun, espousing her "100 percent pro-life" credentials and taking fellow Republicans in the Senate to task for failing to repeal the Obama health care law.
"I know the left calls me a wingnut or a knuckle-dragging conservative," she said in the video. "And you know what? I say that's all right. Bring it on." ||||| poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201710/186/1155968404_5599002365001_5598963550001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Twitter pulls Blackburn Senate ad deemed ‘inflammatory’
Twitter is barring a top Republican Senate candidate from advertising her campaign launch video on the service because a line about her efforts to investigate Planned Parenthood was deemed “inflammatory.”
GOP Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who is running to replace retiring Sen. Bob Corker, launched her campaign last week with a video proclaiming herself “a hard core, card-carrying Tennessee conservative.” In her announcement video, she boasts: “I fought Planned Parenthood and we stopped the sale of baby body parts. Thank God.”
Story Continued Below
Twitter decided the line violated its ad policies, according to an email obtained by POLITICO. The video is still on Twitter, but the campaign is barred from paying to promote it.
"The account is not suspended, nor are the organic Tweets the account has sent containing the same video from the promoted Tweets," a Twitter spokesperson wrote in an email.
The line refers to her work leading a House select committee investigating Planned Parenthood following a 2015 controversy in which videos shot by undercover conservative journalists appeared to show the group profiting from the sale of fetal body tissue. Democrats have argued the panel’s inquiry was a waste of taxpayer funds, intended to concoct a reason to shut down the group.
Planned Parenthood consistently denied wrongdoing and never faced criminal charges.
“It appears that the line in this video specific to 'stopped the sale of baby body parts' has been deemed an inflammatory statement that is likely to evoke a strong negative reaction,” a Twitter employee wrote to two employees of Targeted Victory, a digital GOP consulting firm working for Blackburn’s campaign. “If this is omitted from the video it will be permitted to serve.”
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On Monday, Blackburn took aim at the social media network in a fundraising email.
“This is urgent. I’m being censored for telling the truth,” Blackburn wrote. “Twitter has shut down my announcement video advertising. Silicon Valley elites are trying to impose their values on us. When I talked about our legislative accomplishments to stop the sale of baby body parts, they responded by calling our ad ‘inflammatory’ and ‘negative.’”
Blackburn is the leading candidate to replace Corker, with former Americans for Prosperity state director Andy Ogles also in the race on the GOP side. Army veteran James Mackler is running as a Democrat.
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– Conservative congresswoman Marsha Blackburn is running for the Senate, and her entry into the Tennessee race has gotten more attention than anticipated thanks to a decision by Twitter. The company blocked a video ad in which Blackburn declares, "I fought Planned Parenthood and we stopped the sale of baby body parts. Thank God." Twitter informed the campaign that the reference to "baby body parts" was too volatile and that it would have to be ditched if the ad were to run, reports the Tennessean. Blackburn, who is running to replace the retiring Bob Corker, is instead trying to use the decision in her favor. "This is urgent," she wrote in an fundraising email to supporters, per Politico. "I’m being censored for telling the truth." She also called out "Silicon Valley elites" in the message. While Twitter won't allow the video to be used as a paid ad, Blackburn can still keep it on her Twitter campaign page. The line in question is in reference to a 2015 controversy involving Planned Parenthood in which an anti-abortion group accused it of selling "baby parts" based on undercover recordings. Blackburn led a House panel investigating the incident, which Democrats called a waste of time and taxpayer money, per the AP. It was never shown that Planned Parenthood sold fetal tissue for a profit, which would be illegal, and the group faced no charges. Blackburn's panel recommended that the federal government stop funding the group. "I know the left calls me a wingnut or a knuckle-dragging conservative," Blackburn says in the video. "And you know what? I say that's all right. Bring it on."
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In this Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010 photo, Peter Sokolowski, editor at large for Merriam-Webster Inc., thumbs through the index card files at the dictionary publisher, in Springfield, Mass. Merriam-Webster... (Associated Press)
In this Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010 photo, Peter Sokolowski, editor at large for Merriam-Webster Inc., holds up reference index card files showing the word "pragmatic" at the dictionary publisher, in Springfield,... (Associated Press)
In this Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010 photo, the word "austerity" is shown on an index card file at dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster Inc. in Springfield, Mass. Merriam-Webster has chosen "austerity" as its... (Associated Press)
The move sparked angry protests, strikes and riots across the country as unemployment skyrocketed and the crisis spread to other European nations. The move also incited a rush to online dictionaries from those searching for a definition.
Austerity, the 14th century noun defined as "the quality or state of being austere" and "enforced or extreme economy," set off enough searches that Merriam-Webster named it as its Word of the Year for 2010, the dictionary's editors announced Monday.
John Morse, president and publisher of the Springfield, Mass.-based dictionary, said "austerity" saw more than 250,000 searches on the dictionary's free online tool and came with more coverage of the debt crisis.
"What we look for ... what are the words that have had spikes that strike us very much as an anomaly for their regular behavior," Morse said. "The word that really qualifies this year for that is 'austerity'."
Runners-up also announced Monday included "pragmatic," "moratorium," "socialism," and "bigot" _ the last word resulted from public uses by former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, former CNN host Rick Sanchez and former NPR senior analyst Juan Williams.
Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster's editor-at-large, said this year's top 10 words were associated with a news event or coverage, which editors believe resulted in prolonged jumps in searches.
"Sometimes it's hard to pinpoint the searches on one particular news event, but typically that is what sparks people's curiosity in a word," Sokolowski said.
For example, "socialism" was searched, editors believe, because of coverage around federal bailouts and Democratic-backed federal health care legislation. And editors noticed that "pragmatic" was looked-up a number of times after midterm elections.
According to Morse, the dictionary's online website sees more than 500 million searches a year _ with most of those being usual suspects like "effect" and "affect." But he said words selected for the dictionary's top 10 were words that had searches hundreds of thousands of out-of-character hits.
Also making the top ten list was the word "doppelganger." Sokolowski said the word saw a jump in searches after George Stephanopoulos of ABC's "Good Morning America" called "Eat, Pray, Love" author Elizabeth Gilbert "Julia Roberts' doppelganger." Roberts played Gilbert in the book's film adaptation and resembles the writer.
"Doppelganger" was also used in the popular television show, "The Vampire Diaries."
"Sometimes, that all it takes," Sokolowski said.
Words "shellacking," "ebullient," "dissident," and "furtive" also made this year's top list.
Allan Metcalf, an English professor at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill., and author of "OK: The Improbable Story of America's Greatest Word," said the list of words shows how the country is evolving because the public is looking up words that used to be very common.
"Around 20 to 30 years ago, everyone would know what 'socialism' was," said Metcalf, who is also executive secretary of the American Dialect Society. "Same with bigot. That fact that they have to be looked up says something about us."
That's true with some words like "shellacking," said Jenna Portier, an English instructor at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La. Although Merriam-Webster editors said searches for the word spiked after President Barack Obama said he and his party took "a shellacking" from voters in midterm election, Portier said the word is very common in southern Louisiana. "Where I'm from, it means to varnish something like wood," Portier said.
Shana Walton, a languages and literature professor also at Nicholls State University, said she understands how news events maybe influenced the dictionary's list.
"If 'moratorium' is one of the most looked-up words, that's clearly a reflection of how often the word was used in the wake of the BP oil spill," said Walton, a linguistic anthropologist who is doing research on oil and land in south Louisiana. "Many people in south Louisiana expressed much more outrage about the moratorium, frankly, than about the spill."
Metcalf said the American Dialect Society will release its "Word of the Year" winner in January, but it's selected by the group like Time's Person of the Year. ||||| The runners-up to Merriam-Webster's 2010 Word of the Year _ austerity _ with definitions from the publisher's collegiate dictionary and, when applicable, the news event or story that generated the interest in the word:
_ Pragmatic (adj.): relating to matters of fact or practical affairs often to the exclusion of intellectual or artistic matters; practical as opposed to idealistic.
U.S. elected officials began to talk about more "pragmatic" solutions to the nation's problems after the Nov. midterm elections.
_ Moratorium (noun): a legally authorized period of delay in the performance of a legal obligation or the payment of a debt.
The Obama administration issued a "moratorium" on deepwater oil drilling following the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
_ Socialism (noun): any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.
Socialism was in the news on and off around a number news stories, including those concerning federal bailouts and Democratic-backed federal health care legislation.
_ Bigot (noun): a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance.
Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown referred to voter as a "bigot" with a wireless microphone still on, former CNN host Rick Sanchez suggested Daily Show host Jon Stewart was a "bigot," and former NPR senior analyst Juan Williams got fired after he said on the Fox News show "The O'Reilly Factor" that he wasn't a "bigot," but got nervous when he saw certain Muslims on airplanes.
_ Doppelganger (noun): a ghostly counterpart of a living person; comes from a German word that translates as "double goer."
ABC "Good Morning America" host George Stephanopoulos called "Eat, Pray, Love" author Elizabeth Gilbert "Julia Roberts' doppelganger." Roberts played Gilbert in the book's film adaptation. "Doppelganger" was also used in the popular television show, "The Vampire Diaries."
_ Shellacking (noun): a decisive defeat.
President Barack Obama said he and his party took "a shellacking" from voters frustrated over the pace of economic recovery, a day after Democrats lost their majority in the House of Representatives and lost ground in the Senate.
_ Ebullient (adj.): having or showing liveliness and enthusiasm.
A number of media outlets used "ebullient" to describe events around the rescue of the Chilean miners in October.
_ Dissident (adj.): disagreeing especially with an established religious or political system, organization, or belief.
The 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Liu Xialbo, who not able to attend the ceremony in Oslo, Norway, because he remained a political prisoner in China, was often referred to as a "dissident."
_ Furtive (adj.): done by stealth; surreptitious.
A man shown on surveillance video shedding his shirt near a car bomb in Times Square in May was described by police as "looking furtively" as he walked quickly from the scene.
___
Source: Merriam-Webster.
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– Austerity measures announced by governments across Europe this year sparked a surge in civil unrest, and a surge in people trying to find out exactly what the word means. Merriam-Webster says that, based on search trends, the noun—meaning "enforced or extreme economy"—is its word of 2010. AP reports that the word was searched for on the dictionary's free online tool more than a quarter of a million times. The runners-up, all of which the dictionary has traced back to news stories, include "pragmatic," "moratorium," "socialism," and "bigot." Searches for "doppelganger" spiked after George Stephanopoulos called Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert "Julia Roberts' doppelganger" on Good Morning America, and there were thousands of searches for "shellacking" after President Obama used the word to describe how his party fared in the midterm elections. Click for the complete list of runners-up.
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Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) A sea of black-clad mourners in Bangkok said a final goodbye to their beloved monarch during a funeral that climaxed with the late king's son and successor lighting a pyre built to resemble the sacred center of the Hindu universe.
Massive crowds gathered in the Thai capital on Thursday to observe the pomp and circumstance on day two of the country's elaborate five-day funeral for King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who ruled the country for 70 years.
Smoke rises from the main pavilion of the cremation site where the body of late Thai King Bhumibol Adelyadej was being cremated late on October 26, 2017 in Bangkok.
The King's body was transported in a procession from the Grand Palace, where it was lying in state, to Sanam Luang, the site of the royal crematorium, which was built for the occasion. The cremation of the late monarch took place in private with family members attending, according to Lt. Gen. Sansern Kaewkumnerd, a government spokesman.
Mourners dressed in dark colors stood in stark contrast to the gold symbolic urn that was transported alongside soldiers dressed in red and white. Some stood in long lines to lay ceremonial sandalwood flowers that were later burned in a ceremony at the time of the king's cremation.
The ceremony for the man who was once the world's longest reigning monarch began late Wednesday, just over one year since he died at age 88 on October 13, 2016.
Also known as Rama IX -- a reference to his lineage stretching from Rama I, the founder of the Chakri dynasty -- the King commanded great love and respect in Thailand.
A mourner holds a portrait of King Bhumibol Adulyadej during his funeral procession and royal cremation ceremony in Bangkok.
"He's the dad," said Thai mourner Saichart Siwannathong, during the ceremony. "The best people and my idol. My hero. My everything."
Before the ceremony, Thais slept in the streets to reserve the best vantage points for the funeral procession, which culminated with his cremation at the royal crematorium, a three-tier, 50-meter (165-foot) high golden funeral pyre.
Thousands came for just a chance to be close to a man who helped steer the country through coups and chaos. Despite the throngs, people appeared to be calm and organized.
Mourners attend the funeral procession.
Jirapa Kaewin traveled to Bangkok with her twin 18-year-old daughters and had been in line since midnight. "At first we thought we might not come because around my home there is an event organized for the King," she said, "but I thought, this is once in a lifetime, so we have to come."
Kaewin is from the neighboring province of Samut Prakan, where she works at a cosmetics company.
"I wanted to come earlier but had to work yesterday," she said. "We tried to get as close as possible."
A woman walks past portraits of the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, left, and King Maha Vajiralongkorn, on Thursday in Bangkok.
Many Thais considered the event too special to miss.
"I'm here today because it's an important day," Yanisa Sonjai, 24, said during the procession. "We would like to be as close as possible to send him back to the heavens."
"I believe everyone doesn't want this day, but we have to accept that it's the time that our king has to go back to the heavens. He has dedicated his life to working really hard for us. He's still in our heart."
The ceremonial urn of Thailand's late King Bhumibol Adulyadej is transported during the funeral procession and royal cremation ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017.
Thursday was declared a public holiday to allow Thais the opportunity to pay their final respects during what an official guide said "will be one of the most touching and elaborate cremation ceremonies ever seen in Thailand."
Three billion Thai baht ($90 million) was budgeted for the funeral, the biggest in living memory.
Banks and shops closed across the country and the nation's police force -- some 230,000 officers -- were on duty to contain the crowds.
Mourners react during the funeral.
Bhumibol's funeral was attended by dignitaries and royal families from 42 countries including US Defense Secretary James Mattis, Britain's Prince Andrew, Japan's Prince Akishino and royalty from Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Sweden.
A popular King
The King was immensely popular during his reign. He was seen as a leader who skillfully charted a course that put the monarchy at the center of Thai society, acting as a force for community and tradition even as the country lurched between political crises and more than a dozen military coups, both attempted and successful.
Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn takes part in the funeral procession.
Bhumibol reigned over more than 20 prime ministers and many constitutional changes. He also helped the country navigate the disruptive effects of the Vietnam War during the 1960s and '70s.
Photos: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A life in pictures Thailand's Bhumibol Adulyadej was crowned king on May 5, 1950. News of the 88-year-old's death was announced Thursday, October 13, via a statement from the Royal Palace read on state TV. He was the world's longest-reigning living monarch. Hide Caption 1 of 16 Photos: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A life in pictures Bhumibol, left, is pictured in 1935 with his older brother, the former King Ananda Mahidol, in Lausanne, Switzerland, where the boys attended school. King Ananda was 20 when he died of a gunshot wound under mysterious circumstances. His 18-year-old brother, known then as Prince Phumiphon Aduldet, later assumed the throne to become King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Hide Caption 2 of 16 Photos: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A life in pictures Bhumibol and his future wife, Princess Sirikit Kityakara, are pictured in Lausanne in 1949. The couple married a year later at Srapathum Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. Hide Caption 3 of 16 Photos: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A life in pictures The King and Queen pose with their children, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn and Princess Ubol Ratana, on the steps of Bangkok's Chitralada Palace in 1955. Two more daughters, Princesses Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and Chulabhorn Walailak, were born in 1955 and 1957. Hide Caption 4 of 16 Photos: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A life in pictures The royal couple ride with U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower during a five-day state visit to the United States in 1960. Hide Caption 5 of 16 Photos: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A life in pictures The King, far right, plays the saxophone during a 1960 jam session with legendary jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman and his band in New York. Hide Caption 6 of 16 Photos: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A life in pictures The King walks with his wife and their 13-year-old son, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, during a visit to Britain in 1966. Hide Caption 7 of 16 Photos: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A life in pictures The King convenes the first meeting of his country's National Reform Assembly during a ceremony held in Bangkok in 1976. The King put the monarchy at the center of Thai society, acting as a force for community and tradition even as the country flipped between political crises and military coups. Hide Caption 8 of 16 Photos: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A life in pictures The King raises a camera to take a photo in 1995. He was given his first camera in 1934, which ignited a lifelong enthusiasm for photography. He has often been seen with a camera around his neck during public appearances. Hide Caption 9 of 16 Photos: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A life in pictures The King and Queen survey a rice crop made possible by a Royal Irrigation Project in 1996. The project formed part of the Royal Development Projects, which focused on developing remote rural areas. The King has taken an interest in environmental projects throughout his long reign. Hide Caption 10 of 16 Photos: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A life in pictures The King reviews an honor guard with Queen Sirikit and Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn during the annual military parade to celebrate his birthday in 2006. Hide Caption 11 of 16 Photos: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A life in pictures The King lights candles at a ceremony to mark Coronation Day in Bangkok in 2007. Hide Caption 12 of 16 Photos: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A life in pictures The King is wheeled towards his yacht in 2010, during a rare public appearance to open a new flood gate and two bridges in Bangkok. Hide Caption 13 of 16 Photos: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A life in pictures The King is pictured with family members in 2012. He addressed a crowd from a balcony on his 85th birthday. Hide Caption 14 of 16 Photos: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A life in pictures The King is seen through a car window as he leaves the Siriraj hospital in Bangkok in 2015. Hide Caption 15 of 16 Photos: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A life in pictures A portrait of the King is held on the eve of his 88th birthday as people gather outside the Siriraj hospital in 2015. The King of Thailand is regarded as a demi-god by many Thais, and his popularity has been viewed as a unifying force during times of political unrest. Hide Caption 16 of 16
He acceded to the throne in 1946 in the aftermath of Thailand's occupation by Japan during World War II.
For most Thais, he is the only monarch they have ever known, and before his death, analysts expressed concern that his passing would remove a vital point of unity in an increasingly divided country.
His portrait is hung adorned with marigolds everywhere from Bangkok office lobbies to the poorest of rural homes.
Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral For the last year, hundreds of artists have been preparing sculptures and artworks for the funeral of Thailand's late king, Bhumibol Adulyadej. Hide Caption 1 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral While Thailand is predominantly Buddhist, many elements of the funeral draw on Hindu traditions.
Hide Caption 2 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral Depictions of mythical and religious figures make up a large proportion of the sculptures. Hide Caption 3 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral The artworks play an important role of the funeral of King Bhumibol, who possesses god-like status in Thailand. According to religious traditions, the ceremony will see the king complete his journey into the afterlife. Hide Caption 4 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral Coming in at a cost of 3 billion baht (about $90 million) to the Thai government, this royal funeral is set to be the biggest in living memory. Hide Caption 5 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral The art workshops, which are located in and around Bangkok, are operated by the government's Department of Fine Arts. Hide Caption 6 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral The most intricate works have been carried out by professional artists selected by the Thai government officials. Hide Caption 7 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral An image of the king as a young man on display at a government art studio outside Bangkok. "When we are working, we always think of His Majesty," said sculptor Chatmongkol Insawang. Hide Caption 8 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral In addition to sculptures, a variety of ornate paintings and embroideries have also been prepared for the funeral. Hide Caption 9 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral While many of the artworks draw on religious imagery, the king's life and achievements have also served as inspiration. Hide Caption 10 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral Preparing works for the funeral is considered an honor and a career highlight by many of the artists. Hide Caption 11 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral Tasked with crafting more than 500 sculptures for the extravagant five-day ceremony, some of the sculptors have been working daily for almost a year. Hide Caption 12 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral "Each individual artist has his or her own style (but) they must lose their style and stick to the approved sketch," said 56-year-old artist Sanan Rattana. Hide Caption 13 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral Some artists commute up to four hours every day to reach workshops across Bangkok. Hide Caption 14 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral On October 26, King Bhumibol's body will be transported to the crematorium, where many of the artworks are now located. Hide Caption 15 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral The extensive collection of artworks is just one part of a fastidiously organized ceremony expected to bring hundreds of thousands to the streets of the Thai capital this week. Hide Caption 16 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral "The king liked sweet and bright colors, so we decided to use pink, orange and yellow," said painter Kiattisak Suwannaphong. Hide Caption 17 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral The largest and most elaborate sculptures can take up to five months to complete. Hide Caption 18 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral In addition to religious references, the artworks depict a variety of real-life figures and scenes from King Bhumibol's 70-year reign. Hide Caption 19 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral While many of the artists are professionals, some have volunteered their services for free. Those volunteers who are unable to produce art themselves can be found cleaning up paint and assisting with equipment. Hide Caption 20 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral Now complete, all of the artworks will be transported to the royal funeral pyre in central Bangkok, next to the Grand Palace. Hide Caption 21 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral "I feel this is the highest honor in an artisan's life," said sculptor Chatmongkol Insawang. Hide Caption 22 of 23 Photos: Thai artists prepare for King's funeral "We have a chance to serve (the late king)." Hide Caption 23 of 23
The pyre
Late Thursday night, Bhumibol's son and successor, King Rama X or King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, capped the year of mourning with the lighting of the pyre, which was built to resemble the sacred center of the Hindu universe, Mount Meru.
While Thailand is predominantly Buddhist, many elements of the funeral draw on Hindu traditions.
In addition to religious references, the artworks depict a variety of real-life scenes and figures, such as infrastructure projects built during Bhumibol's reign and his two favorite dogs, Tongdaeng and Jo Cho.
Photos: Bangkok prepares final goodbye for king A final farewell: Following a year of mourning since the death of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, a Royal Cremation Ceremony for the revered monarch will be held October 25-29 in Bangkok's historic Sanam Luang area. Hide Caption 1 of 16 Photos: Bangkok prepares final goodbye for king 'Father of the nation': The late king, often called the "father of the nation," was beloved and respected among his subjects. Many Thai citizens went to pay respects during a cremation dress rehearsal on October 21. Hide Caption 2 of 16 Photos: Bangkok prepares final goodbye for king World's longest reigning monarch: Passing away at the age of 88, the king reigned over Thailand for seven decades. Hide Caption 3 of 16 Photos: Bangkok prepares final goodbye for king A colorful ceremony: The Royal Cremation Ceremony will be filled with ancient rites, colorful performances and grand street processions. Hide Caption 4 of 16 Photos: Bangkok prepares final goodbye for king Golden crematorium: A large, three-tiered 50-meter-high golden Royal Crematorium featuring the work of dozens of skilled artists has been built. Hide Caption 5 of 16 Photos: Bangkok prepares final goodbye for king Travel guidelines: Most businesses, including museums and restaurants, are expected to close on October 26, when the actual cremation will take place. The day has been declared a public holiday. Hide Caption 6 of 16 Photos: Bangkok prepares final goodbye for king 'Be understanding and patient': Visitors are more than welcome during this historic period, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. "During this time, we ask tourists and visitors for their understanding and patience should they experience any inconveniences," says the organization in a statement. Hide Caption 7 of 16 Photos: Bangkok prepares final goodbye for king What to wear: The majority of Thai people are wearing black clothing this week. Tourists are asked to dress respectfully during this period. Hide Caption 8 of 16 Photos: Bangkok prepares final goodbye for king Dress code: Those wanting to attend the Royal Cremation Ceremony are required to wear all black. Tight clothing and sleeveless shirts are prohibited. Hide Caption 9 of 16 Photos: Bangkok prepares final goodbye for king Five-day ceremony: There will be six royal processions during the five-day ceremony, where attendees will get a glimpse of several royal chariots and palanquins. Hide Caption 10 of 16 Photos: Bangkok prepares final goodbye for king Schedule of events: The actual cremation will take place at 10 p.m. on October 26 and will be followed by merit-making ceremonies from October 27-29. Hide Caption 11 of 16 Photos: Bangkok prepares final goodbye for king Royal chariots and palanquins: This is one of the royal chariots, which will be used during the cremation ceremony. A ceremony was held last month to bless the chariot. Hide Caption 12 of 16 Photos: Bangkok prepares final goodbye for king Royal performances: Royal performances, including Khon masked dances, puppet shows and live music, will start at 6 p.m. on October 26 and continue until 6 a.m. the following day. Hide Caption 13 of 16 Photos: Bangkok prepares final goodbye for king Official mourning period: The Royal Cremation Ceremony will also mark the end of the country's official mourning period. Hide Caption 14 of 16 Photos: Bangkok prepares final goodbye for king Related exhibition: An exhibition will be held at Sanam Luang for 30 days, from November 1-30, 7 a.m.-10 p.m., to showcase the arts of the Royal Crematorium and related structures. Hide Caption 15 of 16 Photos: Bangkok prepares final goodbye for king Behind the ceremony: For those wishing to learn more about the Royal Cremation Ceremony, the government has set up an For those wishing to learn more about the Royal Cremation Ceremony, the government has set up an English language version of its website highlighting all the ceremonies, the meanings behind them and a full schedule of events. Hide Caption 16 of 16
Those outside the capital will have the opportunity to pay their respects as well.
As many as 85 replicas of the royal crematorium have been constructed -- one for each of Thailand's 76 provinces and nine for the special administrative region of Bangkok.
More than 500 statues, on which sculptors have been working daily for almost a year, have been created for ceremonies around the country; some of these statues will adorn the intricate tower.
In addition, more than 800 sites have been designated across the country where subjects will be able to present flowers carved from sandalwood, a traditional tribute to a deceased monarch.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report referred to Bhumibol's son and successor, King Rama X or King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, as King Rama V. This error has since been corrected. ||||| The royal guards walk during religious rituals to move the ashes of late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, following a royal cremation ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand Friday, Oct. 27, 2017. With solemn faces... (Associated Press)
The royal guards walk during religious rituals to move the ashes of late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, following a royal cremation ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand Friday, Oct. 27, 2017. With solemn faces and outright tears, Thais said farewell to their king and father figure with elaborate funeral ceremonies... (Associated Press)
BANGKOK (AP) — With solemn faces and outright tears, Thais said farewell to their king and father figure with elaborate funeral ceremonies that cap a year of mourning and are steeped in centuries of tradition.
Smoke rose just before midnight Thursday from the spectacularly ornate crematorium built in the year since King Bhumibol Adulyadej died. On Friday morning, his son, current King Maha Vajiralongkorn, participated in a religious ceremony to move his father's ashes to special locations for further Buddhist rites. Thai television broadcast pictures of Vajiralongkorn bathing Bhumibol's relics — charred bones — and placing them in golden reliquary urns.
The five-day funeral began Wednesday with Vajiralongkorn performing Buddhist merit-making rites. On Thursday, a ceremonial urn representing Bhumibol's remains was transferred from Dusit Maha Prasad Throne Hall to the crematorium in somber processions involving thousands of troops, a golden palanquin, a gilded chariot and a royal gun carriage.
The urn, placed under a nine-tiered white umbrella and accompanied by a palace official, was hoisted into the main chamber of the golden-spired crematorium as monks chanted, traditional instruments wailed and artillery fired in the distance. The king then climbed the red-carpeted steps to light candles and incense in honor of his father.
On a day designated a public holiday in the kingdom, tens of thousands of mourners dressed all in black watched the processions from streets in Bangkok's royal quarter and millions more saw broadcasts aired live on most TV stations and shown at designated viewing areas across the country.
Before dawn, 63-year-old Somnuk Yonsam-Ar sat on a paper mat in a crowd opposite the Grand Palace. Her granddaughter slept in her lap and her husband rested his head against a metal barrier. The family came from the coastal province of Rayong, where they run a food stall.
Somnak waved a fan to cool herself but said she was not tired.
"I feel blessed to be able to sit here, and be part of this," she said. "It's an important day for us."
Bhumibol's death at age 88 on Oct. 13, 2016, after a reign of seven decades sparked a national outpouring of grief. Millions of Thais visited the throne hall at the Grand Palace to pay respects.
Deceased Thai royals have traditionally been kept upright in urns during official mourning. But Bhumibol, who spent much of his early life in the West, opted to be put in a coffin, with the royal urn placed next to it for devotional purposes.
The ceremonial urn was at the center of Thursday's processions, including one led by the current king when the golden container was placed upon the Great Victory Chariot. Built in 1795 and made of gilded and lacquered carved wood, the chariot has been used to carry the urns of royal family members dating to the start of the Chakri dynasty.
As the chariot, pulled by hundreds of men in traditional red uniforms, passed the mourners lining the parade route, they prostrated themselves, pressing their folded hands and head on the ground in a show of reverence.
In the evening, a symbolic cremation was witnessed by royalty and high-ranking officials from 42 countries. Orange-robed monks chanted Buddhist prayers to bless Bhumibol's spirit as the official guests waited to offer sandalwood flowers at the crematorium built to represent mystical Mount Meru, where Buddhist and Hindu gods are believed to dwell.
Bhumibol's ashes and relics will be transferred to the Grand Palace and the Temple of The Emerald Buddha for further Buddhist rites, and on the final day of the funeral, they are set to be enshrined in spiritually significant locations.
The funeral is by design an intensely somber event, but also rich in history and cultural and spiritual tradition.
The adulation Bhumibol inspired was fostered by palace courtiers who worked to rebuild the prestige of a monarchy that lost its mystique and power when a 1932 coup ended centuries of absolute rule by Thai kings.
That effort built a semi-divine aura around Bhumibol, who was protected from criticism by a draconian law that mandates prison of up to 15 years for insulting senior royals.
But he was also genuinely respected for his development projects, personal modesty and as a symbol of stability in a nation frequently rocked by political turmoil, though his influence waned in his final years.
Thais have braved tropical heat and torrential monsoon rains to secure street-side vantage points to witness the funeral.
Thousands of police and volunteers were on hand to ensure order and entry into the historic royal quarter was tightly controlled to eliminate the faint possibility of protest against the monarchy or military government.
An activist was detained earlier this week after writing on Facebook that he planned to wear red clothing on the day of Bhumibol's cremation, a color associated with support for elected governments ousted in coups in 2006 and 2014. ||||| Funeral of King Bhumibol Adulyadej ends a year of mourning and sets the stage for King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s era
Thousands of Thais dressed in black prostrated themselves and wept as the funeral urn for their former king Bhumibol Adulyadej, a man revered as a demigod who became the world’s longest-reigning monarch, was carried by chariot to his cremation pyre.
Despite monsoon-season downpours punctuated with searing subtropical temperatures, many mourners have spent days in tents hoping to be close to the official send-off for the ninth head of the Chakri dynasty on Thursday.
Man jailed for 35 years in Thailand for insulting monarchy on Facebook Read more
Hotels had been booked up weeks before the special day, which was declared a national holiday, and authorities prepared for 250,000 people to arrive.
King Maha Vajiralongkorn, the son of the former sovereign, performed the evening service at the three-tiered crematorium, which represents Mount Meru, the centre of the Hindu and Buddhist universe where it is believed Thai royals return after death.
The country’s top artisans have spent 10 months constructing the spectacular 50-metre-tall, golden crematorium. Its structure of nine gilded spires was adorned with images from mythology and the life of the king, including statues of his two favourite dogs.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The royal chariot which carried the body of the late Thai king. Photograph: Wason Wanichakorn/AP
A day-long grand procession of royal chariots and palanquins included the great victory chariot, a four-wheeled, 13-tonne vehicle that transported the king’s body to the crematorium, pulled by more than 200 men.
The junta had set aside 3bn baht (£70m) for the lavish funeral of a man viewed as a beacon of stability and peacemaker in a nation that has suffered repeated violent coups and counter-coups since his coronation in 1950.
Draconian lese-majesty laws make it illegal to criticise the monarchy, considered the world’s wealthiest, and the military generals currently in power who see themselves as royal protectors have ramped up prison sentences.
People feel genuine adoration for the man, who took the throne unexpectedly after his elder brother was shot in the head. He helped lift many in Thailand out of poverty through decades of philanthropy.
The cremation became a fixation for the Thai public, with Bangkok residents folding more than 10m flowers made of shaved sandalwood and placing them at temples. Its fragrance is believed to lead the souls of the dead to heaven.
One mourner, Montatip Chinnaprom, laid her flowers at a shrine on the outskirts of the old city after authorities closed entrance points to crowds. More than 100,000 had already entered the complex by early morning.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Front page of Thai newspaper The Nation marking the king’s cremation.
“I want to be as close to the cremation as possible,�? said the 22-year-old student, dress in black shirt and skirt. “I loved king Rama Nine,�? she added, referring to the monarch’s title.
Thai newspapers turned their websites monotone to express their grief.
Close to 80,000 security personnel were deployed, and drones were banned within a 19km radius. In fear of a mass influx, the government built 85 smaller replicas of the crematorium around the country where people can mourn.
Bangkok’s two metro services were free to use all day on Thursday and some food shops offered free meals. Jazz music composed by the king, who loved the saxophone, has been playing in public areas of the capital for weeks.
Queen Sofia of Spain, the former German president Christian Wulff, the UK’s Prince Andrew, and the Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen were some of foreign dignitaries who attended the cremation.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Mourners wait for the start of the funeral procession. Photograph: Jorge Silva/Reuters
Television channels were ordered to reduce their colour saturation and not to air overly upbeat content in the lead-up to the cremation. About 10,000 7-Eleven convenience stores closed for the day.
Strict regulations handed out to reporters covering the event included a ban on long hair, earrings and moustaches for male journalists. “Unnatural hair colouring is not allowed,�? they said.
The symbolic service – the actual cremation took place later on Thursday – ends the official mourning period, a year in which government officials and many Thais have only worn black.
Public shows such as masked plays, puppet shows and orchestral concerts began on Thursday evening, part of an extravagant five-day Buddhist ceremony including thousands of musicians and dancers.
“The king was very important for Thai people,�? said Nutthapol, a librarian who said the monarch had donated money to the university where he is employed. “He worked for Thailand.�?
His successor, Vajiralongkorn or Rama X, does not yet command the same affection as his father and has spent much of his adult life abroad, mostly in Germany. Since ascending to the throne, the 65-year-old - who had a long military career - has made amendments to the constitution that reinforce his powers.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Thai mourners sit in front of the royal crematorium and funeral complex. Photograph: Wason Wanichakorn/AP
The rite to send off the former monarch, known locally as the “father of all Thais�?, is the emblematic end of his era and paves the way for the formal coronation of Vajiralongkorn.
“The cremation is a crucial ritual for Thailand,�? said Paul Chambers of Thailand’s Naresuan University. “The December coronation of his son ... marks the official new beginning of the next dynasty. The father’s long and well-choreographed reign will be a tough act for the son to follow. As such, he will not escape the inevitable comparison.�?
Since the king died on 13 October last year, more than 12 million people have visited his coffin at the Grand Palace.
The king’s ashes and bones will be returned to the palace on Friday and placed in the Emerald Buddha temple, the most sacred Buddhist site in Thailand.
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– With solemn faces and outright tears, Thais said farewell to their king and father figure with elaborate funeral ceremonies that cap a year of mourning and are steeped in centuries of tradition. Smoke rose just before midnight Thursday from the spectacularly ornate crematorium built in the year since King Bhumibol Adulyadej died; the Guardian reports it stands 164 feet, includes statues of the king's two most beloved dogs, and symbolizes the sacred Mount Meru, where Thai royals are thought to live after death alongside Buddhist and Hindu gods. The five-day funeral began Wednesday, with a day-long procession of chariots and palanquins taking place the next day. The king's body was wheeled in the victory chariot, which was pulled by at least 200 men. CNN reports the cremation was a private ceremony attended by family Thursday night, preceded by a symbolic cremation witnessed by royalty and high-ranking officials from 42 countries. On Friday morning, his son, current King Maha Vajiralongkorn, participated in a religious ceremony involving his father's remains. The AP reports Thai television broadcast pictures of Vajiralongkorn bathing Bhumibol's relics—charred bones—and placing them in golden reliquary urns. Those ashes and relics will be transferred to the Grand Palace and the Temple of The Emerald Buddha for further Buddhist rites, and on the final day of the funeral, they are set to be enshrined in spiritually significant locations.
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Guillain-Barré Syndrome Fact Sheet
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Síndrome de Guillain-Barré
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What is Guillain-Barré syndrome?
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. The first symptoms of this disorder include varying degrees of weakness or tingling sensations in the legs. In many instances the symmetrical weakness and abnormal sensations spread to the arms and upper body. These symptoms can increase in intensity until certain muscles cannot be used at all and, when severe, the person is almost totally paralyzed. In these cases the disorder is life threatening - potentially interfering with breathing and, at times, with blood pressure or heart rate - and is considered a medical emergency. Such an individual is often put on a ventilator to assist with breathing and is watched closely for problems such as an abnormal heart beat, infections, blood clots, and high or low blood pressure. Most individuals, however, have good recovery from even the most severe cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, although some continue to have a certain degree of weakness.
Guillain-Barré syndrome can affect anybody. It can strike at any age and both sexes are equally prone to the disorder. The syndrome is rare, however, afflicting only about one person in 100,000. Usually Guillain-Barré occurs a few days or weeks after the patient has had symptoms of a respiratory or gastrointestinal viral infection. Occasionally surgery will trigger the syndrome. Recently, some countries worldwide have reported an increased incidence of GBS following infection with the Zika virus. In rare instances vaccinations may increase the risk of GBS.
After the first clinical manifestations of the disease, the symptoms can progress over the course of hours, days, or weeks. Most people reach the stage of greatest weakness within the first 2 weeks after symptoms appear, and by the third week of the illness 90 percent of all patients are at their weakest.
What causes Guillain-Barré syndrome?
No one yet knows why Guillain-Barré — which is not contagious — strikes some people and not others. Nor does anyone know exactly what sets the disease in motion.
What scientists do know is that the body's immune system begins to attack the body itself, causing what is known as an autoimmune disease. Usually the cells of the immune system attack only foreign material and invading organisms. In Guillain-Barré syndrome, however, the immune system starts to destroy the myelin sheath that surrounds the axons of many peripheral nerves, or even the axons themselves (axons are long, thin extensions of the nerve cells; they carry nerve signals). The myelin sheath surrounding the axon speeds up the transmission of nerve signals and allows the transmission of signals over long distances.
In diseases in which the peripheral nerves' myelin sheaths are injured or degraded, the nerves cannot transmit signals efficiently. That is why the muscles begin to lose their ability to respond to the brain's commands, commands that must be carried through the nerve network. The brain also receives fewer sensory signals from the rest of the body, resulting in an inability to feel textures, heat, pain, and other sensations. Alternately, the brain may receive inappropriate signals that result in tingling, "crawling-skin," or painful sensations. Because the signals to and from the arms and legs must travel the longest distances they are most vulnerable to interruption. Therefore, muscle weakness and tingling sensations usually first appear in the hands and feet and progress upwards.
When Guillain-Barré is preceded by a viral or bacterial infection, it is possible that the virus has changed the nature of cells in the nervous system so that the immune system treats them as foreign cells. It is also possible that the virus makes the immune system itself less discriminating about what cells it recognizes as its own, allowing some of the immune cells, such as certain kinds of lymphocytes and macrophages, to attack the myelin. Sensitized T lymphocytes cooperate with B lymphocytes to produce antibodies against components of the myelin sheath and may contribute to destruction of the myelin. In two forms of GBS, axons are attacked by antibodies against the bacteria Campylobacter jejuni, which react with proteins of the peripheral nerves. Acute motor axonal neuropathy is particularly common in Chinese children. Scientists are investigating these and other possibilities to find why the immune system goes awry in Guillain-Barré syndrome and other autoimmune diseases. The cause and course of Guillain-Barré syndrome is an active area of neurological investigation, incorporating the cooperative efforts of neurological scientists, immunologists, and virologists.
How is Guillain-Barré syndrome diagnosed?
Guillain-Barré is called a syndrome rather than a disease because it is not clear that a specific disease-causing agent is involved. A syndrome is a medical condition characterized by a collection of symptoms (what the patient feels) and signs (what a doctor can observe or measure). The signs and symptoms of the syndrome can be quite varied, so doctors may, on rare occasions, find it difficult to diagnose Guillain-Barré in its earliest stages.
Several disorders have symptoms similar to those found in Guillain-Barré, so doctors examine and question patients carefully before making a diagnosis. Collectively, the signs and symptoms form a certain pattern that helps doctors differentiate Guillain-Barré from other disorders. For example, physicians will note whether the symptoms appear on both sides of the body (most common in Guillain-Barré) and the quickness with which the symptoms appear (in other disorders, muscle weakness may progress over months rather than days or weeks). In Guillain-Barré, reflexes such as knee jerks are usually lost. Because the signals traveling along the nerve are slower, a nerve conduction velocity (NCV) test can give a doctor clues to aid the diagnosis. In Guillain-Barré patients, the cerebrospinal fluid that bathes the spinal cord and brain contains more protein than usual. Therefore a physician may decide to perform a spinal tap, a procedure in which a needle is inserted into the patient's lower back and a small amount of cerebrospinal fluid from the spinal column is withdrawn for study.
How is Guillain-Barré treated?
There is no known cure for Guillain-Barré syndrome. However, there are therapies that lessen the severity of the illness and accelerate the recovery in most patients. There are also a number of ways to treat the complications of the disease.
Currently, plasma exchange (also called plasmapheresis) and high-dose immunoglobulin therapy are used. Both of them are equally effective, but immunoglobulin is easier to administer. Plasma exchange is a method by which whole blood is removed from the body and processed so that the red and white blood cells are separated from the plasma, or liquid portion of the blood. The blood cells are then returned to the patient without the plasma, which the body quickly replaces. Scientists still don't know exactly why plasma exchange works, but the technique seems to reduce the severity and duration of the Guillain-Barré episode. This may be because plasmapheresis can remove antibodies and other immune cell-derived factors that could contribute to nerve damage.
In high-dose immunoglobulin therapy, doctors give intravenous injections of the proteins that, in small quantities, the immune system uses naturally to attack invading organisms. Investigators have found that giving high doses of these immunoglobulins, derived from a pool of thousands of normal donors, to Guillain-Barré patients can lessen the immune attack on the nervous system. Investigators don't know why or how this works, although several hypotheses have been proposed.
The use of steroid hormones has also been tried as a way to reduce the severity of Guillain-Barré, but controlled clinical trials have demonstrated that this treatment not only is not effective but may even have a deleterious effect on the disease.
The most critical part of the treatment for this syndrome consists of keeping the patient's body functioning during recovery of the nervous system. This can sometimes require placing the patient on mechanical ventilatory assistance, a heart monitor, or other machines that assist body function. The need for this sophisticated machinery is one reason why Guillain-Barré syndrome patients are usually treated in hospitals, often in an intensive care ward. In the hospital, doctors can also look for and treat the many problems that can afflict any paralyzed patient - complications such as pneumonia or bed sores.
Often, even before recovery begins, caregivers may be instructed to manually move the patient's limbs to help keep the muscles flexible and strong and to prevent venous sludging (the buildup of red blood cells in veins, which could lead to reduced blood flow) in the limbs which could result in deep vein thrombosis. Later, as the patient begins to recover limb control, physical therapy begins. Carefully planned clinical trials of new and experimental therapies are the key to improving the treatment of patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome. Such clinical trials begin with the research of basic and clinical scientists who, working with clinicians, identify new approaches to treating patients with the disease.
What is the long-term outlook for those with Guillain-Barré syndrome?
Guillain-Barré syndrome can be a devastating disorder because of its sudden and unexpected onset. In addition, recovery is not necessarily quick. As noted above, patients usually reach the point of greatest weakness or paralysis days or weeks after the first symptoms occur. Symptoms then stabilize at this level for a period of days, weeks, or, sometimes, months. The recovery period may be as little as a few weeks or as long as a few years. About 30 percent of those with Guillain-Barré still have a residual weakness after 3 years. About 3 percent may suffer a relapse of muscle weakness and tingling sensations many years after the initial attack.
Guillain-Barré syndrome patients face not only physical difficulties, but emotionally painful periods as well. It is often extremely difficult for patients to adjust to sudden paralysis and dependence on others for help with routine daily activities. Patients sometimes need psychological counseling to help them adapt.
What research is being done?
Scientists are concentrating on finding new treatments and refining existing ones. Scientists are also looking at the workings of the immune system to find which cells are responsible for beginning and carrying out the attack on the nervous system. The fact that so many cases of Guillain-Barré begin after a viral or bacterial infection suggests that certain characteristics of some viruses and bacteria may activate the immune system inappropriately. Investigators are searching for those characteristics. Certain proteins or peptides in viruses and bacteria may be the same as those found in myelin, and the generation of antibodies to neutralize the invading viruses or bacteria could trigger the attack on the myelin sheath. As noted previously, neurological scientists, immunologists, virologists, and pharmacologists are all working collaboratively to learn how to prevent this disorder and to make better therapies available when it strikes.
Where can I get more information?
For more information on neurological disorders or research programs funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, contact the Institute's Brain Resources and Information Network (BRAIN) at:
BRAIN
P.O. Box 5801
Bethesda, MD 20824
800-352-9424
http://www.ninds.nih.gov
Information also is available from the following organizations:
Column1 Column2 GBS/CIDP Foundation International
The Holly Building 104 1/2 Forrest Ave.
Narberth, PA 19072
[email protected]
http://www.gbs-cidp.org
Tel: 610-667-0131; 866-224-3301
Fax: 610-667-7036
"Guillain-Barré Syndrome Fact Sheet", NINDS, Publication date July 2011.
NIH Publication No. 11-2902
Back to Guillain-Barré Syndrome Information Page
See a list of all NINDS Disorders
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Prepared by:
Office of Communications and Public Liaison
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, MD 20892
NINDS health-related material is provided for information purposes only and does not necessarily represent endorsement by or an official position of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke or any other Federal agency. Advice on the treatment or care of an individual patient should be obtained through consultation with a physician who has examined that patient or is familiar with that patient's medical history.
All NINDS-prepared information is in the public domain and may be freely copied. Credit to the NINDS or the NIH is appreciated. ||||| More Videos 1:40 This robot can walk and swim — inside you Pause 1:18 Pregnant woman takes "extra" precautions against Zika in Miami 2:26 Police board Greyhound bus, demand proof of citizenship from passengers 0:54 Video purportedly shows Hallandale Beach mayor Joy Cooper slurring her words 2:03 Man wrangles alligator, frees it from plastic ring wrapped around its body 1:22 Comedian Conan O’Brien visit lives on in Haiti 2:38 Accused killer's mom speaks about her son and the crime he is accused of 0:14 Surveillance video captures drive-by shooting in Philadelphia 1:35 Robber, hands full with cash and lotto tickets, stuffs gun into pants 1:01 Police looking for suspects in lottery scam Video Link copy Embed Code copy
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Miami-Dade County workers search communities to identify mosquito-breeding grounds and curb the potential spread of the Zika virus and other mosquito-related illnesses. Daniel Chang and Brittany Peterson [email protected]
Miami-Dade County workers search communities to identify mosquito-breeding grounds and curb the potential spread of the Zika virus and other mosquito-related illnesses. Daniel Chang and Brittany Peterson [email protected] ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
/ Updated By Maggie Fox
Florida health officials said Tuesday they were investigating a possible case of Zika that wasn’t carried back by a traveler.
If it's confirmed, it would be the first evidence that Zika has spread to mosquitoes in the continental U.S. All cases up to now have been in people who traveled to Zika-affected regions or their sexual partners.
Small, local outbreaks of Zika virus are fully expected in southern states such as Florida, Louisiana and Texas. These states are home to the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that most commonly transmit the virus.
Aedes aegypti mosquitos are seen in a lab at the Fiocruz Institute on June 2, 2016 in Recife, Brazil. Microcephaly is a birth defect linked to the mosquito-borne Zika virus where infants are born with abnormally small heads. Mario Tama / Getty Images
“Today the Florida Department of Health announced that it is conducting an investigation into a possible non-travel related case of Zika virus in Miami-Dade County,” the health department said in a statement.
“The department is actively conducting an epidemiological investigation, is collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and will share additional details as they become available.”
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The CDC said it will help investigate.
"At this time, state and local officials in Florida are leading the investigation, and CDC is closely coordinating with Florida officials. To date, Florida public health officials have confirmed Zika infection through laboratory testing; upon request, CDC will conduct additional laboratory testing," the agency said in a statement.
"CDC has been working with state, local, and territorial health officials to prepare for the possibility of locally acquired Zika infection in the United States."
Zika can be transmitted by mosquitoes and, less commonly, through sex. The CDC has predicted that a traveler would eventually be bitten by local mosquitoes and infect them with the virus. After about 10 days, an infected mosquito can then transmit the virus to another person.
But in the U.S., it’s less common for people to live in the conditions that allow the virus to cause a full epidemic. So the CDC predicts any outbreaks would be limited.
"CDC has been working with state, local, and territorial health officials to prepare for the possibility of locally acquired Zika infection in the United States," the CDC said.
"To date, CDC has provided Florida more than $2 million in Zika-specific funding and about $27 million in emergency preparedness funding that can be used toward Zika response efforts. "
Related: Pregnant and Worried As Zika Approaches
The Florida health department said it would give out Zika prevention kits and repellant in the area under investigation. “Zika kits are intended for pregnant women,” it said.
“Mosquito control has already conducted reduction and prevention activities in the area of investigation. Residents and visitors are reminded that the best way to protect themselves is to prevent mosquito bites through practicing good drain and cover methods.”
Zika virus is most dangerous to pregnant women, because it can cause severe birth defects in babies if they are infected in the womb. It can cause rare complications such as the paralyzing Guillain-Barre syndrome and very rarely can kill or help kill an already ill patient. An elderly man in Puerto Rico died last spring and Utah reported the death of an elderly patient with Zika last week.
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In Utah, a family caregiver of the patient who died was also infected with Zika and officials there are investigating how it happened, since sexual transmission and mosquitoes can likely be ruled out.
The CDC’s reported more than 1,300 cases of Zika in the continental U.S., all linked to travelers. Among them, 346 are or have been pregnant women. Nine babies have been born so far with Zika birth defects and another six were miscarried or aborted.
Health experts caution people in areas where Aedes mosquitoes live to use mosquito repellant, to drain even the smallest reservoirs of standing water in and around homes and to use screens to keep insects out of the house. The mosquitoes that spread Zika bite during the day and prefer to live in and around houses and other structures.
"It was only a matter of time before the right circumstances aligned in Florida," said Dr. Amesha Adalja of the University of Pittsbuch Medical Center's Center for Health Security. ||||| Story highlights Zika can cause birth defects and neurological issues
Florida has been closely monitoring the spread of the virus
(CNN) The Florida Department of Health said it is investigating a possible non-travel related case of Zika virus in Miami-Dade County.
As of July 13, there have been 1,306 cases of Zika reported in the continental United States and Hawaii, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. None of those has been the result of local spread by mosquitoes.
The CDC said it is closely coordinating with Florida officials leading the investigation.
The Florida Department of Health is considering all known routes of transmission, including the possibility that it could be travel related, spokeswoman Mara Gambineri said.
Cases of infection through sexual transmission with someone who traveled to a Zika zone are counted as travel related.
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– There have been more than 1,300 reported cases of Zika reported in the US so far, per the CDC, but a new case in Florida is especially worrisome: The Florida Department of Health says it's looking into what may be the first non-travel-related infection in the continental US, meaning the virus could be harbored by local mosquitoes, CNN reports. Florida health officials have teamed up with the CDC to look into the infection in Miami-Dade County, which claims the highest number of Zika cases in the state (88 to date this year, including seven reported this week), per the Miami Herald. The affected neighborhood, which hasn't been named, has already been sprayed down, and Zika prevention kits and bug repellent are being distributed and made available for pickup in the county. "It was only a matter of time before the right circumstances aligned in Florida," a doctor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Center for Health Security tells NBC News. But although there's the possibility the disease may be flying around in local bugs, it's still a big "may": The state DOH is exploring every transmission possibility, including the fact that the infection may somehow be tied to travel outside the country, a rep tells CNN; cases of those who have sex with individuals who traveled to Zika hot spots are still considered travel-related cases. The virus has not only been linked to microcephaly and other birth defects in babies, but also to Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disorder in which the body's immune system attacks the nervous system, sometimes leading to paralysis. The CDC and health officials are also checking out a puzzling case in Utah, the site of the first Zika-related death on the US mainland, per the Herald; a "family contact" of the deceased, who had traveled outside the US, also contracted the disease. (A "startling" first in Zika transmission happened in NYC.)
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Vicki Gardner, right, who survived an on-air shooting that killed two TV journalists in Virginia last month, with Fox News’s Greta Van Susteren. (Fox News/On The Record via AP)
On Aug. 26, Vicki Gardner, executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce, was preparing to be interviewed on live television in Southwest Virginia. She and the reporter about to interview her discussed where they would stand and what they would talk about — “our usual fun conversation,” Gardner said. A cameraman set up nearby.
Then: action. The interview began.
“We saw a motion that seemed a little unusual,” Gardner said. A man was lingering out of the frame. It was a distraction. Was he looking for something? Was he going to ask Gardner a question — live, on-the-air?
Then: “Gunfire,” Gardner said. “Lots and lots of gunfire.”
The shots reportedly came from the weapon of Vester L. Flanagan III. Flanagan, a disgruntled former co-worker of Alison Parker of WDBJ (Channel 7) in Roanoke, killed her and cameraman Adam Ward during a live broadcast before taking his own life.
Now, in a lengthy interview aired Tuesday night with Greta Van Susteren of Fox News, Gardner — still looking shocked weeks after the attack and tearing up at times — has offered details about how she survived a senseless rampage that claimed two lives.
Gardner, 61, was shot while being interviewed about the coming 50th anniversary of the reservoir and recreational area about an hour’s drive southeast of Roanoke. In the CBS station’s video of the interview, which captured the shooting, Gardner praised the “moderate climate” and “excellent conditions” of the lake community, as The Washington Post’s Antonio Olivo reported.
“This is our community,” Gardner said in the video. “We want to come together. We want to share information that can help us grow and develop, to provide a better experience.”
Then came the attack. Realizing that Ward was down and Parker was “not to the side of me any longer,” Gardner followed her instincts.
“The only thing I could think of was play dead,” she said. The attacker, she reasoned, didn’t know whether he had hit her or not. So she hit the floor — “as though I had been hit,” she said — and rolled up in a fetal position.
“I felt as though he was going to shoot me in the head,” Gardner said.
Indeed, the shooter returned and shot her in the back. Gardner thought the bullet went through her spine, and that she would be paralyzed.
“I have so many angels around me or something, it didn’t happen that way,” she said. “… I don’t know whether he tried to fire off a couple more rounds. I was just concentrating on being so still that he wouldn’t shoot me again.”
When emergency responders arrived, Gardner was taken to a hospital. Doctors removed part of one of Gardner’s kidneys and part of her colon, as the Associated Press reported.
“The surgeon told me that a couple of centimeters and she wouldn’t be walking, and a couple of centimeters more and she wouldn’t be alive,” Tim Gardner, her husband, said last month.
Gardner told Van Susteren the killer said nothing as the bullets flew.
“My heart just goes out to Adam and Alison,” she said. “They’re so young. … Why take me and save me and take them?”
Van Susteren: “Is it a good thing he killed himself?”
“I don’t know,” Gardner said. “He did what he did. It certainly does take a lot of the drama out of it, doesn’t it? It’s over.”
The survivor said she would not waste her good fortune.
“Obviously there is a purpose, and by golly, I will fulfill it,” she said.
Correction: Adam Ward’s name was misspelled in an earlier version of this post. ||||| WDBJ7 shooting survivor Vicki Gardner spoke to Greta Van Susteren tonight in an "On The Record" exclusive interview.
Gardner was being interviewed by WDBJ7 reporter Alison Parker when a gunman opened fire, killing Parker and photographer Adam Ward. Gardner was shot in the back during the attack.
Gardner told Greta that while she was being interviewed, she saw movement with her peripheral vision.
"Then it was just very, very fast. And I saw movement. And then gunfire. Lots and lots of gunfire," Gardner said. "From that point, it was very chaotic."
She said the only thing she could think of was to play dead.
"I just fell to the ground as though I had been hit and went into fetal position," Gardner said. "He did come back up and shot me in the back."
Gardner said she was sure that she was going to be shot in the head, so she just concentrated on remaining still and made her peace.
Luckily, the gunman didn't fire any more shots and fled. Police and emergency personnel were on the scene several minutes later.
"My heart just goes out to Alison and Adam," Gardner said. "Why save me and take them? But obviously, there's a purpose. And by golly, I will fulfill it."
Gardner's husband, Tim, told Greta that he watched the horrifying shooting unfold on live TV.
"I knew exactly what had happened. I heard the gunshots and saw the expression on her face," he said. "And then the next 15 minutes was a really tough 15 minutes."
He said that Vicki called him while she was in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
"I have to tell you, those are some of the best words I've ever heard," he said. "She said that she was alive, she didn't know why, and that she loved me."
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– Vicki Gardner, the sole survivor of the WDBJ7 on-air shootings last month, gave her first interview to Greta Van Susteren on Fox News last night. "It was just very, very fast. And I saw movement. And then gunfire. Lots and lots of gunfire. From that point, it was very chaotic," said Gardner, the executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce. "The only thing I could think of was play dead," she added, per the Washington Post. "I just fell to the ground as though I had been hit and went into fetal position," she said, but the gunman "did come back up and shot me in the back." As she lay there assuming the bullet had gone through her spine and would paralyze her, "I was just concentrating on being so still that he wouldn’t shoot me again," she said. Horrifyingly, Gardner's husband Tim saw the whole thing unfold on live TV, he told Van Susteren. "I knew exactly what had happened. I heard the gunshots and saw the expression on her face," he said. "And then the next 15 minutes was a really tough 15 minutes," until his wife called him from the ambulance. "I have to tell you, those are some of the best words I've ever heard," he says (he'd earlier described his wife's account of the shooting.) Gardner, 61, said she feels awful for the families of reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Wade, who were killed. "Why save me and take them?" she asks. "But obviously, there's a purpose. And by golly, I will fulfill it."
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The first indication of a softening of the hard lines that have marked weeks of partisan wrangling over the debt limit came in the afternoon when the two leading Congressional Republicans announced that they had reopened fiscal talks with the White House and expected their last-ditch drive to produce a compromise.
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Following the House’s sharp rejection of a proposal by Mr. Reid to raise the debt limit and cut spending, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader and a linchpin in efforts to reach a deal, said he and Speaker John A. Boehner were “now fully engaged” in efforts with the White House to find a resolution that would tie an increase in the debt limit to spending cuts and other conditions.
“I’m confident and optimistic that we’re going to get an agreement in the very near future and resolve this crisis in the best interests of the American people,” said Mr. McConnell, who noted he was personally talking to both Mr. Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., a favorite partner in past negotiations.
Mr. Boehner, who would have to steer a compromise through the House, said he based his confidence on the prospect of an agreement on the sense that “we’re dealing with reasonable, responsible people who want this crisis to end as quickly as possible.”
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A Democratic official with knowledge of the talks said that Mr. McConnell called Mr. Biden early Saturday afternoon, the first conversation between the two men since Wednesday. The official said they talked at least four more times on Saturday as they tried to work out an agreement.
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The deal they were discussing, this person said, resembled the bill that Mr. Boehner won approval for in the House on Friday more than it did the one that Mr. Reid had proposed.
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It would immediately raise the debt ceiling by about $1 trillion, accompanied by a similar range of spending cuts, and set up a new bipartisan committee that would work to find deeper cuts in exchange for a second debt limit increase that would extend through the 2012 election.
A failure of the new committee to win enactment of its proposal could then set off automatic spending cuts across the board, including to entitlement programs. Other ideas were swirling around the Capitol as lawmakers searched for a way to avoid default. One of Mr. Reid’s top lieutenants said he saw at least a glimmer of hope.
“We are a long way from any sort of negotiated agreement,” said Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, “but there is certainly a more positive feeling about reaching an agreement than I’ve felt in a long time.”
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The flurry of activity came as anxiety built up in many corners, including among Wall Street investors worried about the effects on the markets and active-duty soldiers worried about their paychecks.
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After Mr. McConnell sounded a hopeful note, Mr. Reid called members of the Senate to the floor to hear him dispute the claims by his Republican counterpart and accuse Republicans of failing to enter into serious negotiations even as the Treasury risked running out of money to pay all its bills after Tuesday.
“The speaker and Republican leader should know that merely saying you have an agreement in front of television cameras doesn’t make it so,” Mr. Reid said after returning from a visit to the White House with Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader in the House.
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Trying to build momentum for his own proposal, Mr. Reid and fellow Democrats were working to win over Republican senators to support his plan to raise the debt ceiling through 2012 and circumvent Mr. McConnell.
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“Americans are watching us and demanding a result that is balanced,” Mr. Reid said.
The Senate Democrats’ efforts were set back Saturday when 43 of the 47 Republican senators signed a letter to Mr. Reid saying they would not back his proposal, which would allow a $2.4 trillion increase in the debt ceiling in two stages while establishing a new Congressional committee to explore deeper spending cuts. The numbers signaled that without changes in the plan, Mr. Reid would not be able to overcome a Republican filibuster, which requires 60 votes.
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House Republicans signaled their disapproval of the Reid plan by holding a symbolic vote on Saturday, rejecting it by a 246 to 173 vote, in a move intended to show it had no chance of passing in that chamber. About a dozen Democrats joined Republicans in rejecting the Reid plan.
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The pre-emptive vote could strengthen Mr. McConnell’s hand as he seeks to shape any final compromise.
At the White House and in talks in Congressional offices and corridors, most of the attention was focused on finding a way to define the precise conditions under which the president could get a second increase in the debt limit that would be needed early in 2012 under both Republican and Democratic proposals. Officials in both parties said another idea that had surfaced was to require a change in Social Security policy if the new committee deadlocked, providing an incentive for the new committee to act on its own.
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Under the proposal that the Congressional Budget Office said could save more than $100 billion over 10 years, a different measure of inflation would be used to calculate the annual cost-of-living adjustment in Social Security benefits. Supporters say the alternative measure of inflation is more accurate because it reflects what happens when prices rise; advocates for the elderly say the proposal is a backdoor way of cutting benefits.
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Members of both parties took the floor to push for compromise, noting that the two sides were not far apart on major elements of their deficit-reduction plans.
“Failure should not be an option for us in this case, and it’s time we started finding common ground,” said Senator Johnny Isakson, Republican of Georgia.
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The unusual Saturday session came after a week of brinkmanship on Capitol Hill. On Friday, Mr. Boehner managed to pass his own House bill, along party lines, just a day after suspending the vote as the Republican leadership tried frantically to line up enough votes for passage. But the Senate swiftly rejected that plan late Friday.
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While some of the back-and-forth between the House and Senate and the party leaders was typical of the late stages of a negotiation, the combative and unyielding tone in both chambers of Congress was creating more pessimism in the rank and file about the prospects that a final agreement could be struck and cleared before Tuesday.
Even if a measure is able to win significant bipartisan endorsement in the Senate, the reception in the House could be different with the Treasury Department’s Tuesday deadline for increasing the debt limit at hand. But how to push a plan by House conservatives remained a major question mark.
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At the Treasury Department, Secretary Timothy F. Geithner met with top advisers on Saturday on contingency plans for managing the financial consequences of Congressional inaction. “No one will be pleased,” said one adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The Treasury Department calculates that the government will exhaust its ability to borrow money at the end of Tuesday, forcing the government to pay its bills from a dwindling pile of cash. Independent analysts estimate the government has enough money on hand to pay all of its bills for another week, more or less, before it starts missing payments.
Mr. Obama has repeatedly called on Congress to raise the borrowing limit, known as the debt ceiling, by Tuesday to avoid any uncertainty about the government’s ability to meet its obligations. Financial markets are particularly concerned about the payment of interest on the federal debt. A default on those obligations could precipitate a global financial crisis.
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The painful negotiations to resolve the crisis have caught the attention of troops in Afghanistan, where Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was quizzed repeatedly on Saturday by soldiers and Marines worried about their paychecks.
In Kandahar and Helmand Provinces, Admiral Mullen said it remained uncertain where money would be found if the government defaulted. Regardless of budget talks in Washington, the mission for American troops in Afghanistan would not halt, he said.
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“We’re going to continue to come to work,” he said. ||||| Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) delayed a vote on his plan to raise the debt ceiling late Saturday to give President Obama and GOP leaders more time to strike an agreement.
But the delay could imperil the chances of passing legislation to raise the debt limit by Aug. 2, a deadline set by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for avoiding a federal default.
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A senior Senate GOP aide estimated Friday that leaders would have to reach a deal by 1 a.m. Sunday morning in order to push it through the upper chamber and get it to the House by Tuesday.Leaders will have to rely on the goodwill of every member of the upper chamber to agree to unanimous consent to speed legislation through the Senate in time to make the deadline.The senior GOP aide said members of the Tea Party Caucus who have been resistant to raising the debt ceiling would not drag out the floor procedure to delay a deal sanctioned by Democratic and Republican leaders.A congressional source said Saturday night that Obama and GOP leaders had reached a tentative deal that would raise the debt limit by between $2.4 trillion and $2.8 trillion.It would include spending cuts of about $1 trillion and set up a select bicameral committee to recommend a second deficit-reduction package worth between $1.4 trillion and $1.8 trillion by Thanksgiving.If Congress fails to approve the committee’s recommendations, cuts to Defense and Medicare would go into effect automatically, giving both parties incentive to reach a later agreement.The Medicare reforms would not include cuts to beneficiaries. Instead, the tentative deal would trim payments to healthcare providers and insurance companies, according to an aide familiar with the talks.Senate Republicans would likely be given a vote on a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution as part of the final deal.Reid said White House officials asked him to postpone a vote on legislation he crafted to raise the debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion and cut spending by an equal amount.Many details of the tentative bipartisan deal remain unresolved, according to Reid.“There are many elements to be finalized and there is still a distance to go before any arrangement can be completed,” Reid said.“I believe we should give everyone as much room as possible to do their work,” he said. “I spoke to the White House quite a few times this evening, and they’ve asked me to give everyone as much time as possible to reach an agreement, if one can be reached.”Reid postponed a vote to end a GOP filibuster of his plan until 1:00 pm Sunday. The Senate adjourned at 10:13 p.m. Saturday and will reconvene at noon Sunday.Senate Republicans had accused Reid of forcing a vote early Sunday morning in a deliberate attempt to run out the clock on bipartisan leadership negotiations. They saw it as a part of an effort to pressure moderate Republicans to go along with his own plan to raise the debt limit.“Democrats are running out the clock. They want to delay the hard work of negotiation until the Aug. 2 deadline they’ve been warning us about all summer,” said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.).Reid took to the floor Saturday afternoon to announce that Obama was not close to reaching a deal with House GOP leaders.“The Speaker and the [Senate] Republican leader held a press conference to announce they’re in talks with the president and that a bargain to raise the debt limit is in the works and is close,” Reid said. “Members of the Senate, that is not true.”Reid reported that he had spent two hours with Obama and Vice President Biden and asserted that Republicans “still refuse to negotiate in good faith” because they refuse to allow potential tax increases.McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) offered a bullish assessment earlier in the day, surprising some senior Democrats who did not realize there was any substantial progress.Democrats took to the Senate floor Saturday night to urge Obama to use unilateral executive authority to increase the debt limit.As the deadline approaches, they have become increasingly anxious over the partisan deadlock on an agreement.“If we fail this, I hope the president will invoke the 14th Amendment and everyone should read it. It says the debt of the United States shall not be questioned. And if we can’t get together, the president will have to take that responsibility,” Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said.But McConnell seemed confident Saturday that he and Boehner would be able to reach agreement with Obama.“Our country is not going to default for the first time in our history — that is not going to happen — we now have a level of seriousness and the right people at the table that we needed and thought we had, as the Speaker indicated last week,” McConnell said at a Saturday press conference.McConnell’s announcement sparked alarm among some rank-and-file Democrats who were surprised by media reports nine days ago that Obama and Boehner were close to a deal that would have cut entitlements.White House budget director Jack Lew insisted to Democrats at a private meeting on July 21 that there was no deal, but the next day senior administration officials told reporters that they were in fact very close to hatching an agreement.One liberal Democratic senator said he hoped that House Democrats would act as a backstop and derail an agreement which would cut Medicare substantially without offering the possibility of raising taxes.If Obama and GOP leaders cannot finalize an agreement, Reid will move ahead with his own plan, which would not touch entitlement programs. He has reached out to moderate Republicans in hope of persuading at least seven of them to support his plan.So far, Sen. Scott Brown (R), who is facing reelection next year in Massachusetts, has signaled he would vote for Reid’s proposal.Forty-three Senate Republicans signed a letter to Reid on Saturday declaring their opposition to his debt-ceiling legislation. That opposition left Democrats short of the 60 votes needed to end a filibuster, virtually assuring the defeat of Reid’s plan when it came up for a scheduled vote.Earlier Saturday, House Republicans resoundingly rejected a version of Reid’s debt plan in a 173-246 vote. Every Republican in the chamber voted against it, while all but 11 Democrats voted in favor.However, Reid says there are more GOP lawmakers in play in the Senate than indicated by McConnell’s letter.“One of the people who signed that letter has met with one of my Democratic senators,” Reid said. “A number of them have already agreed to work with us.”
Last Updated at 12:16 a.m.
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– It's either a sign that a last-minute deal is truly in sight or one last tease: Harry Reid has postponed a 1am procedural vote on his plan to raise the debt ceiling until tomorrow afternoon, reports the Hill. Reid says the delay is intended to give negotiations with Republicans under way at the White House more time to play out. The Senate majority leader, who didn't appear to have the 60 votes necessary to prevail anyway, says the postponement came at the request of the White House because the talks were making progress. “There are many elements to be finalized and there is still a distance to go before any arrangement can be completed,” Reid said. “But I believe we should give everyone as much room as possible to do their work.” (Earlier, Mitch McConnell had sounded much more optimistic than Reid about a potential deal.) The New York Times and the AP see Reid's delay as an optimistic sign.
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– A coroner calls it "probably the most blatant disregard for human life" he's ever seen, but no charges will be filed against two Indiana men seen in a video playing with the limp body of their friend hours before he died, the Times of Northwest Indiana reports. On Sunday morning, one of the men posted the video to Facebook; it showed an unresponsive Kyle Kearby, 21, slumped forward as the second man tied cord to Kearby's wrists to make him look like a puppet and then moved him around, including opening and closing his mouth, as both men sang "You've Got a Friend in Me." The man is also shown slapping Kearby, shaking his head, and pumping his chest. A Facebook friend of the man who posted the video tells the Times he captioned it, "One of my close friends passed away this morning. Please stop doing drugs. #fentanyl." Kearby died at a hospital Sunday afternoon. Kearby's father says his son walked into their residence around 5:30am Sunday, some length of time after the video was filmed, but about seven hours later he was found covered in vomit and unresponsive in bed. He could not be revived and was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Meanwhile, around 7am, the Facebook friend had asked the man who posted the video whether Kearby was really dead and the man said he was alive and home and that the video had been posted as a wake-up call for him. Authorities say that even if Kearby's friends knew he was in danger of dying, there is no law requiring them to report his condition to authorities. The men told authorities they were "horseplaying" with Kearby as they have done before, and had dropped him off at home after the video was filmed. "There was no foul play whatsoever," the county sheriff says. An autopsy will be done to determine what substances Kearby may have taken and what caused his death.
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In a wide-ranging interview, Myeshia Johnson, the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, spoke out on "Good Morning America" about her husband's death during a mission in Niger and the controversy that has surrounded it.
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She told ABC News' chief anchor, George Stephanopoulos, that she was upset about remarks President Trump made during a condolence call and said she has many unanswered questions.
"He died as a hero," she said.
George Stephanopoulos: We’re joined now by the widow of Sgt. Johnson, Myeshia Johnson. Myeshia thank you for coming in this morning. I hope you’re feeling the prayers the thoughts of all of us. Myeshia Johnson: Yes.
GS: You know it was so clear watching the funeral how loved and respected La David was by his family, his friends, his community, his fellow soldiers. What do you want people to know about him? MJ: Well, I want the world to know how great of a soldier my husband was and a loving and caring father and husband he was to our family.
GS: You knew him since you were six, huh? MJ: Yes sir.
GS: And I also know you have a lot of questions about what happened. MJ: Yes.
GS: In Niger, What’s at the top of your mind? MJ: The questions that I have that I need answered is I want to know why it took them 48-hours to find my husband; why couldn’t I see my husband? Every time I asked to see my husband they wouldn’t let me.
GS: What did they tell you? MJ: They told me that he’s in a severe, a severe wrap like I won’t be able to see him. I need to see him so I will know that that is my husband. I don't know nothing they won’t show me a finger, a hand. I know my husband’s body from head to toe. And they won’t let me see anything. I don’t know what’s in that box, it could be empty for all I know. But I need, I need to see my husband. I haven’t seen him since he came home.
GS: And what have they told you about what happened in Africa? MJ: I really don’t know the answers to that one neither because when they came to my house they just told me that, um, it was a massive gunfire and my husband as of October 4th was missing, they didn't his whereabouts. They didn't know where he was or where to find him and a couple days later is when they told me that he went from missing to killed in action. I don’t know how he got killed, where he got killed or anything. I don’t know that part they never told me and that’s what I’ve been trying to find out since day one, since October 4th.
GS: Are you confident you’re going to get the answers you need? MJ: If I keep pushing for them I will.
GS: And they say they don't know? MJ: They wont tell me. They won’t tell me anything. I don't know anything.
GS: There are also a lot of questions about the phone call you received from President Trump. I know you were in a car to the airport. Tell us what happened next. MJ: Me and my family was in the limo to receive my husband from I think it was Denver, Dover, we went to...
GS: Dover. MJ: Dover, and we was literally on the airport strip gettin' ready to get out and he called Master Sergeant Neil’s phone. I asked Master Sergeant Neil to put his phone on speaker so my aunt and uncle could hear as well. And he goes on to saying his statement as what he said was...
GS: The president... MJ: Yes the President, said that he knew what he signed up for, but it hurts anyway. And it made me cry cause I was very angry at the tone of his voice and how he said he couldn’t remember my husband’s name. The only way he remembered my husband's name is because he told me he had my husband’s report in front of him and that’s when he actually said La David. I heard him stumblin' on trying to remember my husband’s name and that’s what hurt me the most, because if my husband is out here fighting for our country and he risked his life for our country why can’t you remember his name. And that’s what made me upset and cry even more because my husband was an awesome soldier. He did what it take other people like five years to do in three years. So imagine if my husband was here now. It took my husband three years to make E-5 -- it takes other soldiers five to six years just to make E-5. So if he was here now he woulda been on his way to bein' the E-6 or E-7. My husband had high hopes in the military career.
GS: What did you say to the President? MJ: I didn’t say anything I just listened
GS: But you were upset when you got off the phone? MJ: Oh very, very upset and hurt. Very it made me cry even worse.
GS: Congresswoman Wilson reported that and you explained she was in the car with you. MJ: Yes.
GS: She’s been close with your family for a long time? MJ: Yes. Ms. Wilson, my uncle-in-law was Ms. Wilson’s elementary school principal and my husband was in her 5,000 role model program that’s why she’s well connected with us because she’s been in our family since we were little kids.
GS: The President said that the congresswoman was lying about the phone call. MJ: Whatever Ms. Wilson said was not fabricated. What she said was 100 percent correct. It was Master Sgt. Neil, me, my aunt, my uncle and the driver and Ms. Wilson in the car, the phone was on speaker phone. Why would we fabricate something like that?
GS: Is there anything you’d like to say to the President now? MJ: No. I don’t have nothing to say to him.
GS: Your little girl’s going to be born in January. MJ: Yes January 29th. GS: What are you gonna tell her about her dad? MJ: I’m gonna tell her how awesome her dad was and how a great father he was and how he died as a hero.
GS: Words she’s gonna love to hear Myeshia thank you for sharing your story this morning. MJ: Thank you. ||||| The pregnant widow of U.S. Army Sgt. La David Johnson, who was among four U.S. service members killed in Niger this month, expressed a mix of blame and sorrow today on "Good Morning America," saying she was "very angry" about President Donald Trump's condolence phone call and upset because she says he struggled to "remember my husband's name."
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ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos spoke to Myeshia Johnson, who criticized Trump's handling of the phone call, which started a firestorm of controversy.
" onerror="this.src='http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/myeshia-johnson1-gty-mem-171023_4x3_992.jpg'" /> Gaston De Cardenas/AFP/Getty Images
"I heard him stumbling on trying to remember my husband's name, and that's what hurt me the most, because if my husband is out here fighting for our country and he risked his life for our country, why can't you remember his name?" said Johnson, who had known her husband since she was 6 years old.
"That's what made me upset and cry even more, because my husband was an awesome soldier."
After Myeshia Johnson's interview aired, Trump argued on Twitter today that he said La David Johnson's name "from the beginning" and "without hesitation."
I had a very respectful conversation with the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, and spoke his name from beginning, without hesitation! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 23, 2017
Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., last week adamantly defended her version of Trump's phone call to Myeshia Johnson in an interview with ABC News.
Wilson, who was accompanying Johnson to Dover Air Force Base when Trump called, heard him on speakerphone attempting to console her.
Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/Polaris
"I heard him say, 'Well I guess you know he knew what he was signing up for, but it still hurts,'" Wilson told ABC News.
Trump called her description a "total fabrication."
But Johnson today said Wilson was "100 percent correct" about the call from Trump, saying this morning, "Why would we fabricate something like that?"
U.S. Army
Johnson said she was barred from seeing her husband's body and was not given a straight story on how he died in Niger. He was 25.
"I need to see him so I will know that that is my husband," said Johnson, who's expecting to give birth to their daughter in January.
She added, "They won't show me a finger, a hand. I know my husband's body from head to toe, and they won't let me see anything."
Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/Polaris
She said the casket her husband came home in, adorned with a U.S. flag, remains a mystery box for her. "I don't know what's in that box," she said. "It could be empty, for all I know."
Johnson added, "I need to see my husband."
As for the circumstances of her husband's death, she said she wants "to know why it took [soldiers] 48 hours to find my husband."
ABC News
"I don't know how he got killed, where he got killed or anything," she said. "I don't know that part. They never told me, and that's what I've been trying to find out since Day One, since Oct. 4."
Asked today what she wants people to know about her husband, she said, "I want the world to know how great of a soldier my husband was and a loving and caring father and husband he was to our family."
ABC News' Kelly McCarthy contributed to this report.
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– What President Trump did or didn't say in a condolence call to the pregnant widow of US Army Sgt. La David Johnson has been the subject of controversy for days, and now Myeshia Johnson herself has weighed in. In a Good Morning America interview with George Stephanopoulos, Johnson describes what hurt her "the most": hearing President Trump "stumbling on trying to remember my husband's name ... my husband is out here fighting for our country and he risked his life for our country why can't you remember his name?" She says "the only way he remembered my husband's name is because he told me he had my husband’s report in front of him and that’s when he actually said La David." On Twitter, Trump countered that: "I had a very respectful conversation with the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, and spoke his name from beginning, without hesitation!" As for Rep. Frederica Wilson's assertion that Trump made an "insensitive" remark about Johnson knowing what he was signing up for, Johnson says Wilson was "100% correct. ... Whatever Ms. Wilson said was not fabricated." Asked if she had anything she'd like to say to the president, Johnson said no. But she does have questions about "why it took them 48 hours to find my husband" and why, despite her repeated requests, she has not been allowed to see his body. "They told me that he's in a severe, a severe wrap," she says, but "they won’t show me a finger, a hand. I know my husband’s body from head to toe. ... I don't know what’s in that box, it could be empty for all I know. But I need, I need to see my husband. I haven’t seen him since he came home." (This group is now calling for John Kelly to apologize to Wilson.)
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Heidi Klum's Beauty Secret: 'Don't Be Too Thin!'
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"The ultimate beauty secret for a woman getting older is, Don't be too thin! It is always better to have a little meat on your bones. When you are just muscle, you end up being gaunt in the face, and that makes you look older by five or 10 years," Klum tells the mag.
But that doesn't mean getting lazy and avoiding workouts.
"One of the best parts about season eight of 'Project Runway' being taped in New York City was that I went running every morning. I had a watch that counts the miles and the little thing you put on your shoe that measures each step. Over seven weeks, I ran 120 miles! I don't love running, but I do like to see everything getting tighter and toned." Supermodel Heidi Klum reveals in the December issue of Self that the secret to keeping wrinkles at bay isn't Botox -- it's a few extra pounds."The ultimate beauty secret for a woman getting older is, Don't be too thin! It is always better to have a little meat on your bones. When you are just muscle, you end up being gaunt in the face, and that makes you look older by five or 10 years," Klum tells the mag.But that doesn't mean getting lazy and avoiding workouts."One of the best parts about season eight of 'Project Runway' being taped in New York City was that I went running every morning. I had a watch that counts the miles and the little thing you put on your shoe that measures each step. Over seven weeks, I ran 120 miles! I don't love running, but I do like to see everything getting tighter and toned."
The supermom of four says she isn't afraid of the aging process. "I don't have anxiety about it, so I'm not running to get Botox. Maybe that will change, but I don't think so. I feel comfortable in my skin and comfortable with aging, so I think it's OK that I get wrinkles," she admits.Of course, part of not stressing about life stems from her happy five-year marriage to singer Seal, who she says keeps her grounded and fulfilled."Part of why we're so good together is that, in a lot of ways, we're opposites. I'm speedy, and I don't like sitting still for long. My husband is the most patient person I've ever met. He can explain something to the children for hours, and I will just say, 'OK, this is how it is.' We're both really creative people. We may have some different passions, but we love and respect and trust each other," Klum says. ||||| How do you do it all without losing your mind?
—Laura, 38, New York City
"I'm a big believer in to-do lists. I think of five things in the shower. I set goals and get my work done, but I have to plan for fun things, too. I'm always thinking about what will make my family happier. So I set up playdates and trips. I'm planning for a safari we can all go on together. What can I do with my husband? Can we steal away to Vegas for the weekend? You shouldn't wait for other people to make special things happen. You have to create your own memories."
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– Forget Botox: If you want to look young as you grow older, just gain a few pounds, according to Heidi Klum. "The ultimate beauty secret for a woman getting older is, Don't be too thin!" she tells Self. "When you are just muscle, you end up being gaunt in the face, and that makes you look older by five or 10 years." She also recommends—especially for new moms—lots of sleep and perhaps a spray tan to stay looking fresh. For more, including how she feels about her own wrinkles, click here.
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Blackwater Worldwide security guards Donald Ball (2nd L) and Dustin Heard (R) leave the federal courthouse with their legal team and supporters after being arraigned with three fellow Blackwater guards on manslaughter charges for allegedly killing 14 unarmed civilians and...
Blackwater Worldwide security guard Nick Slatten (C) leaves the federal courthouse with attorneys after being arraigned on manslaughter charges for allegedly killing 14 unarmed civilians and wounding 20 others in a 2007 Baghdad shooting, in Washington in this January 6, 2009...
Blackwater Worldwide security guards Evan Liberty (L) and Dustin Heard (R) leave the federal courthouse with their legal team and supporters after being arraigned with three fellow Blackwater guards on manslaughter charges in a 2007 shooting incident in Baghdad, in...
WASHINGTON A U.S. federal jury found three American former Blackwater guards guilty of manslaughter and weapons charges on Wednesday and a fourth of murder in connection with the 2007 killing of 14 unarmed Iraqis at a Baghdad traffic circle.
The decision closes an emotional chapter in a case that outraged Iraqis, inflamed anti-American sentiment across the globe and touched off debate over the role of private security contractors working for the U.S. government in war zones.
A court clerk read the jury's verdict to a packed courtroom after a two-month trial and more than seven weeks of deliberations. The defendants sat and listened silently.
Paul Slough, 35, Dustin Heard, 33, and Evan Liberty, 32, were convicted of voluntary manslaughter in connection with at least 12 deaths at Nisur Square, where the heavily armed four-truck Blackwater Worldwide convoy had been trying to clear a path for U.S. diplomats.
The Washington jury also found the three guilty of attempted manslaughter in connection with the wounding of at least 11 Iraqis. They face at least 30 years in prison.
A fourth guard, Nicholas Slatten, 30, was convicted of murder in connection with the first death at the circle and faces a life sentence.
"I don’t think the jury understood what it was like to be in a war zone,” David Schertler, a lawyer for Heard, told Reuters.
Lawyers for Liberty of New Hampshire and Heard of Tennessee said they planned to appeal. Lawyers for Slatten, also of Tennessee, and Slough of Texas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The massacre on Sept. 16, 2007, stood out for its brazenness, even during a war replete with grisly incidents, and formed a tense backdrop to talks between the United States and Iraq over the rules governing the continued presence of U.S. forces in Iraq.
"This verdict is a resounding affirmation of the commitment of the American people to the rule of law, even in times of war," said Washington U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen, whose office prosecuted the case.
Prosecutors flew 30 Iraqis to the United States to testify, including some who were wounded in the shooting, and drew on the testimony of nine other guards in the unit. One former guard, Jeremy Ridgeway, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in 2008 and testified against his former colleagues.
100 QUESTIONS
During trial, the government sought to portray the guards as recklessly unleashing massive firepower, including multiple grenades not designed for use in urban areas, on innocent Iraqi civilians, including women and children.
Lawyers for the guards had argued that while the loss of life was unfortunate, the men were operating in a volatile war zone and had used their weapons only in response to incoming fire and a vehicle that appeared to be a car bomb.
The defendants' lawyers presented four of their own witnesses but extensively cross-examined government witnesses and tried to draw attention to inconsistencies in the testimony. Jurors during deliberations considered nearly 100 different questions about the shooting.
Much of the case turned on whether the unit was facing incoming fire or whether a white car realistically appeared to be a car bomb bearing down on the convoy. Slatten had been charged with the murder of the driver of the car.
The trial came after years of stumbles and false starts, as the case has dragged on amid problems with evidence, much of it due to a flawed investigation by the U.S. State Department.
"We certainly respect the court's decision in this case," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters.
A grand jury first indicted five guards on manslaughter charges in 2008. A federal judge dismissed the charges the following year, saying prosecutors had relied too heavily on statements the guards gave to State Department investigators, which were explicitly not to be used for criminal prosecution.
An appeals court later reinstated the case, and prosecutors brought new charges against four of the guards last year.
But in April, prosecutors faced another setback, when an appeals court panel ended the manslaughter case against Slatten, saying prosecutors had waited too long to charge him.
The U.S. Attorney's office responded by obtaining in May the murder indictment against him, which is not subject to a statute of limitations but is harder to prove.
North Carolina-based Blackwater was sold and renamed several times. It is now called Academi, based in Mclean, Virginia. In June, Academi merged with another security contractor, Triple Canopy, which now has the same State Department contract to protect officials in Iraq that Blackwater had in 2007.
(Editing by Jason Szep and Cynthia Osterman) ||||| WASHINGTON (AP) — Four former Blackwater security guards were found guilty Wednesday in the 2007 shootings of more than 30 Iraqis in Baghdad, and a federal judge ordered them immediately to jail.
FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2009 file photo, former Blackwater Worldwide security guard Dustin Heard leaves federal court in Washington. A jury returned guilty verdicts for Heard and three other former Blackwater... (Associated Press)
FILE - In this June 11, 2014 file photo, former Blackwater Worldwide guard Evan Liberty, right, arrives at federal court in Washington. A jury returned guilty verdicts for Liberty and three other former... (Associated Press)
FILE - In this Sept. 25, 2007 file photo, an Iraqi traffic policeman inspects a car destroyed by a Blackwater security detail in al-Nisoor Square in Baghdad, Iraq. A federal jury reached a verdict Wednesday... (Associated Press)
FILE - In this Dec. 8, 2008 file photo, former Blackwater Worldwide security guards, Paul Slough, right and Nick Slatten leave federal court in Salt Lake City. A jury returned guilty verdicts for Slough,... (Associated Press)
FILE - In this June 11, 2014, file photo, former Blackwater Worldwide guard Nicholas Slatten leaves federal court in Washington. A jury returned guilty verdicts for Slatten and three other former Blackwater... (Associated Press)
In an overwhelming victory for prosecutors, a jury found Nicholas Slatten guilty of first-degree murder. The three other three guards — Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard — were found guilty of multiple counts of voluntary manslaughter, attempted manslaughter and gun charges.
The four men had been charged with a combined 33 counts in the shootings and the jury was able to reach a verdict on all of them, with the exception of three charges against Heard. The prosecution agreed to drop those charges.
The outcome after a summerlong trial and weeks of jury deliberation stunned the defense.
David Schertler, a lawyer for Heard, said "the verdict is wrong, it's incomprehensible. We're devastated. We're going to fight it every step of the way. We still think we're going to win."
The shootings on Sept. 16, 2007, caused an international uproar over the role of defense contractors in urban warfare.
The State Department hired Blackwater to protect American diplomats in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, and elsewhere in the country. Blackwater convoys of four heavily armored vehicles operated in risky environments where car bombs and attacks by insurgents were common.
Slatten was charged with first-degree murder; the others were charged with voluntary manslaughter, attempted manslaughter and gun charges.
The case was mired in legal battles for years, making it uncertain whether the defendants would ever be tried.
The trial focused on the killings of 14 Iraqis and the wounding of 17 others. During an 11-week trial, prosecutors summoned 72 witnesses, including Iraqi victims, their families and former colleagues of the defendant Blackwater guards.
There was sharp disagreement over the facts in the case.
The defendants' lawyers said there was strong evidence the guards were targeted with gunfire from insurgents and Iraqi police, leading the guards to shoot back in self-defense. Federal prosecutors said there was no incoming gunfire and that the shootings by the guards were unprovoked.
The prosecution focused on the defendants' intent, contending that some of the Blackwater guards harbored a low regard and deep hostility toward Iraqi civilians.
The guards, the prosecution said, held "a grave indifference" to the death and injury that their actions probably would cause Iraqis. Several former Blackwater guards testified that they had been generally distrustful of Iraqis, based on experience the guards said they had had in being led into ambushes.
Prosecutors said that from a vantage point inside his convoy's command vehicle, Slatten aimed his SR-25 sniper rifle through a gun portal, killing the driver of a stopped white Kia sedan, Ahmed Haithem Ahmed Al Rubia'y.
At the trial, two Iraqi traffic officers and one of the shooting victims testified the car was stopped at the time the shots were fired. The assertion that the car was stopped supported the prosecution argument that the shots were unwarranted.
Defense lawyers pressed their argument that other Blackwater guards — not Slatten — fired the first shots at the Kia sedan and that they did so only after the vehicle moved slowly toward the convoy, posing what appeared to be a threat to the Blackwater guards' safety.
Once the shooting started, hundreds of Iraqi citizens ran for their lives.
It was "gunfire coming from the left, gunfire coming from the right," prosecutor Anthony Asuncion told the jury in closing arguments.
One of the government witnesses in the case, Blackwater guard Jeremy Ridgeway, pleaded guilty to killing the driver's mother, who died in the passenger seat of the white Kia next to her son.
The maximum sentence for conviction of first-degree murder is life imprisonment. The gun charges carry mandatory minimum prison terms of 30 years. The maximum prison term for involuntary manslaughter is eight years; for attempted manslaughter it is seven years. ||||| The shooting of Iraqi civilians in an incident involving US security firm Blackwater has been the subject of several investigations. Occupants of a white sedan died after the car came under fire The Iraqi government has accused Blackwater security guards of killing the civilians on the morning of 16 September 2007, while they were escorting an American diplomatic envoy in Baghdad. The company said the civilians were killed during a shootout after one of their convoys came under attack in Nisoor Square, in an affluent neighbourhood of the capital. They said the guards reacted lawfully to gunfire deliberately aimed at them. The Iraqi government, citing eyewitness reports, concluded that the Blackwater guards fired on civilians without provocation. The government, which has called for the Blackwater guards to face prosecution, welcomed news that five guards had been indicted in the US in December 2008. Details of the charges are expected to be made public later on 8 December and the five men will surrender to federal authorities in Utah, reports say. Until now, US officials have released few details of the incident as it has been the subject of an investigation by the FBI. However, in November 2007, the New York Times quoted FBI officials as saying that the killings of at least 14 Iraqi civilians had been unjustified. One of the most detailed accounts of the events according to Blackwater employees comes from an initial report by the US embassy. This was seen by the Washington Post at the end of September 2007. Embassy report It was described as a "spot report" and not intended to be authoritative. It was dated the day of the attacks. According to those accounts, Blackwater teams encountered a car bomb, a shootout and a standoff between Blackwater guards and Iraqi security forces. Each Blackwater team usually consists of three or four armoured vehicles. The report said the incident began when a car bomb exploded at 11.53 near a financial compound in Baghdad, while a US official was visiting. It also said: Two Blackwater teams transported the official back to the fortified Green Zone
Another Blackwater unit was dispatched to the scene of the car bomb to deal with the aftermath of the blast.
This unit, however, was then ambushed and "engaged with small arms fire" from "multiple nearby locations" in Nisoor Square.
One of the Blackwater teams that had transported the official back to the Green Zone was re-dispatched to help out in Nisoor Square.
The re-deployed unit found itself stuck at an intersection in Nisoor Square and was confronted by Iraqi police and army. A US forces quick reaction team was sent to help rescue the unit. Separately, The Washington Post quoted a US official familiar with the investigation as saying that at least one Blackwater guard drew a weapon on his colleagues and shouted at him to "stop shooting". The incident took place when Nisoor Square was busy with traffic Accounts of what happened to the first Blackwater unit to enter Nisoor Square have differed. Iraqi eyewitnesses have said that guards moved into the roundabout stopping the traffic. They then fired on a white sedan that had failed to slow down. According to those accounts, the car burst into flames killing the occupants. One eyewitness said Blackwater operatives had fired a rocket or grenade into the car. Those eyewitnesses say Blackwater guards then fired without provocation into the surrounding area as civilians and Iraqi officers tried to flee. They say the officers did not return the fire. Also in September 2007, an ABC news report quoted what it said were sworn statements from Blackwater employees. A number of those said that they had fired on the white car after it failed to slow down despite hand and arm signals. Another guard said he returned fire at Iraqis dressed as civilians. Eleven Iraqis were initially believed to have died in the incident, but a further Iraqi government investigation said a total of 17 people had been killed.
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– Four former Blackwater security contractors were convicted today in federal court for a 2007 mass shooting in Baghdad that left Iraqi civilians dead, the AP reports. (Some accounts cite an original death toll of 14, but the BBC notes that an Iraqi investigation later raised the total to 17; about the same number were injured.) Nicholas Slatten was found guilty of first-degree murder, while Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, and Dustin Heard were found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, and gun charges. The defense had claimed its clients were acting in self-defense after insurgents and Iraqi cops shot at them, while prosecutors painted a picture of the guards having a "low regard and deep hostility toward Iraqi civilians," as the AP describes it. The defendants were ordered to jail immediately. Slatten faces life in prison and the others long stretches, but all are expected to appeal. On the day of the Sept. 16, 2007, shootings in Nisur Square, Blackwater guards were trying to clear the way for a State Department convoy before shots rang out, Reuters reports. There was "gunfire coming from the left, gunfire coming from the right," as hundreds of Iraqi people in the square fled, a prosecutor said in closing arguments. The case incited Iraqi outrage and anti-American feelings around the world and made some question what rules government-employed security contractors had to follow overseas, Reuters notes. (Not surprisingly, Blackwater isn't known as Blackwater anymore.)
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The body of a 34-year veteran of the Houston Police Department was found drowned by the devastating floodwaters caused by Hurricane Harvey.
Sgt. Steve Perez, 60, died Sunday morning while driving in a patrol car to his station in downtown Houston. During a press conference on Tuesday, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said Perez left his home in heavy rain around 4:30 a.m., and drove about two-and-a-half hours trying to find a way to get to headquarters. After determining there was no safe route, Perez followed protocol and made his way to another station in Kingwood.
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Confirming death of @houstonpolice Sgt. Steve Perez, 60, on Sunday; caught in floodwaters while driving to duty. #hero #HarveyFlood — Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) August 29, 2017
“Being the dedicated professional this man was, he followed our protocol which was to go to a secondary location, the nearest location he could get to,” Acevedo said.
It is with a heavy heart that we announce the tragic in the line of duty death of Sergeant Steve Perez. pic.twitter.com/cHJxjnFgII — Houston Police (@houstonpolice) August 29, 2017
Actress Marlee Matlin, 52, tweeted her condolences to Perez’s family, writing, “Heroic yet tragic story of #Houston officer Perez who drowned. From my police family to his, sending prayers.”
Heroic yet tragic story of #Houston officer Perez who drowned. From my police family to his, sending prayers. https://t.co/IwqoXw76Vy — Marlee Matlin (@MarleeMatlin) August 30, 2017
Officers realized the next day that Perez had not shown up to either station, and they combed a search area that led them to Hardy Toll Road and Beltway 8. A drive team volunteer search and rescue force joined the search for Perez, but because of the dangerous waters, they weren’t able to recover his body until 8 a.m. on Tuesday.
“Heavy rain, dark roadways, who knows what else he saw,” Acevedo said.
.@ArtAcevedo gets emotional describing the loss of one of his officers who died in the floodwaters Sunday https://t.co/EHZp5Dar4j #RIP pic.twitter.com/TJ9fO2mng2 — ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) August 29, 2017
During the conference, Acevedo emotionally reflected on Perez, stating, “Steve is one of the sweetest persons I’ve ever met.” Perez leaves behind a wife, son and daughter, and was going to turn 61 in two days.
Acevedo added that Perez’s family asked him not to go to work that day, but he said, “We’ve got work to do.”
Mayor Sylvester Turner said Houstonians should celebrate Perez’s life, and be proud of the work he did. “Sergeant Perez fulfilled his purpose,” he tweeted. “His mission is complete. This city ought to celebrate his life.”
Perez’s passing brings the death toll in the wake of Hurricane Harvey to 15. ||||| People rest at the George R. Brown Convention Center that has been set up as a shelter for evacuees escaping the floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017. (AP Photo/LM... (Associated Press)
HOUSTON (AP) — The Latest on Tropical Storm Harvey (all times local):
11:15 p.m.
The Rockport-Fulton Fighting Pirates won't take the field Friday for their season opener, but some of their players took to the field Tuesday to help clean it up.
Winds from Harvey last week sheared the uprights from both goal posts, stripped most of the metal from the stadium scoreboards, scattered sheet metal through the stands and destroyed the gymnasium where the girls' volleyball team plays.
By word of mouth, some football and volleyball players met Monday afternoon to begin the cleanup. Even more players showed up Tuesday.
Athletic director Jay Seibert said that after three weeks of practice and a scrimmage, his players are now scattered all over the state after evacuating the coastal town near Corpus Christi and that the Pirates will not be able to play this week.
Right guard Angelo Trevino said that returning to the field will help the community recovery effort.
Harvey made landfall near Rockport last Friday as a Category 4 hurricane.
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10:45 p.m.
Officials say they have received disturbing reports of people impersonating Homeland Security special agents and telling residents to evacuate in order to rob their homes.
The city of Houston says people should ask anyone knocking on their doors for official badges and credentials with their name and organization. The city's statement also notes that during Harvey relief efforts, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is not conducting immigration enforcement operations in the area.
The city also says in a tweet in both English and Spanish that it is not checking the immigration status of anyone coming into shelters.
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10 p.m.
The death toll from Harvey has risen to at least 18 as three more fatalities have been confirmed in the Houston area.
The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences updated its storm-related deaths Tuesday night to include an 89-year-old woman, Agnes Stanley, who was found floating in 4 feet (1.2 meters) of floodwater in a home. A 76-year-old woman was found floating in floodwater near a vehicle. Her name was not released. A 45-year-old man, Travis Lynn Callihan, left his vehicle and fell into floodwaters. He was taken to a hospital, where he died Monday.
Family members and authorities have reported at least 18 deaths although the bodies of some victims apparently swept away in the floodwaters have not been found.
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9:30 p.m.
Singapore's defense ministry says as many as four of its military helicopters will start assisting in Tropical Storm Harvey relief efforts Wednesday.
The CH-47 Chinook helicopters are stationed in Grand Prairie, Texas, as part of a decades-long partnership between the Republic of Singapore Air Force and Texas National Guard. Singaporean airmen who train there learn how to face large-scale emergencies.
The ministry says the helicopters will be able to airlift troops, evacuees and supplies in the relief effort.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made the offer in a call with President Donald Trump late Tuesday. Both leaders are set to meet at the White House in October.
Singapore made a similar offer after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
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9:15 p.m.
Houston officials are opening a major shelter at NRG Park that can accommodate up to 10,000 evacuees from Harvey.
Darian Ward, a spokeswoman for Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, said the convention center adjacent to the city's NFL stadium and the Astrodome will open at 10 p.m. Tuesday.
The new shelter will provide the city with additional capacity because the number of evacuees at the George R. Brown Convention Center is approaching 10,000, double its original capacity.
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8:40 p.m.
Just 500 cots are being added to the floor of the Toyota Center, as the nearby downtown convention center will remain the primary major shelter for evacuees of Tropical Storm Harvey.
Tom McCasland, Houston's housing and community development director, told The Associated Press Tuesday that the Toyota Center— where the NBA's Houston Rockets play — will serve as an overflow center for people still arriving Tuesday night and early Wednesday. It will only serve families with children that don't have pressing medical needs.
The George R. Brown Convention Center has an estimated 9,000 people seeking shelter. McCasland says more cots are on the way for thousands of people who didn't have one Monday night. Some people slept on towels or strips of cardboard.
He says, "We fully expect to have everyone in a cot tonight."
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8:30 p.m.
Federal and local agencies say they have rescued more than 13,000 people in the Houston area as well as in surrounding cities and counties in Southeast Texas since Tropical Storm Harvey inundated the area with torrential rain.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said Tuesday his agency has rescued about 4,100 people.
Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña says his agency has rescued more than 3,000.
Parisa Safarzadeh, a spokeswoman for the Harris County Sheriff's Office says her agency has rescued more than 3,000 people. Houston is located in Harris County.
U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Mike Hart says his agency has rescued more than 3,000 individuals. Hart says the Coast Guard total includes rescues in Houston, but also in outlying cities and subdivisions outside of Houston, as well as in surrounding counties, including Brazoria, Galveston and Matagorda.
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8:15 p.m.
Beaumont police say a woman has died after she and her young daughter were swept into a rain-swollen drainage canal while trying to escape their stalled vehicle.
A police statement said the woman pulled her vehicle into an office park's flooded parking lot about 3:35 p.m. Tuesday, where it became stalled by high water. The woman then took her daughter, exited the car and was swept about a half-mile away.
Two Beaumont police officers and two fire-rescue divers in a rubber boat spotted the mother floating with the child, who was holding onto her mother. Officers pulled the child and the mother into the boat. The child was responsive but suffering from hypothermia; the mother was unresponsive and efforts to revive her failed. The child is hospitalized in stable condition.
Authorities and family members have so far reported more than a dozen deaths from Harvey.
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This item corrects the location of the parking lot.
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7:55 p.m.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has amended his curfew order to run from midnight to 5 a.m., instead of beginning at 10 p.m.
Turner announced the change on Twitter Tuesday evening, about an hour after initially imposing the curfew.
Police Chief Art Acevedo said at an earlier news conference that curfew violators will be stopped, questioned, searched and arrested.
There have been scattered reports of looting during the flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey.
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7:35 p.m.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner says that the Toyota Center — home of the NBA's Rockets — has been opened as a shelter for people displaced by flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey.
Turner announced during a news conference Tuesday evening that the downtown basketball arena will be used to help reduce overflow at the nearby George R. Brown Convention Center, which is now sheltering 10,000 people. Officials had initially planned to have 5,000 individuals at the convention center.
Turner says people will still have to go to the convention center first before going into the Toyota Center.
Turner thanked Rockets owner Les Alexander for letting the city use the basketball arena as a shelter and also thanked him for his donation of $10 million for Harvey relief efforts.
Turner says because Houston police have been spread thin due to ongoing water rescues and other efforts, 50 Texas National Guard members will be stationed at the convention center to provide security.
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7:20 p.m.
Officials say they have evacuated homes northeast of Houston after a chemical company said there is a risk of an explosion at its flooded plant.
The Harris County Fire Marshal's office said in a tweet Tuesday that homes within 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) of the Arkema plant in Crosby have been evacuated out of precaution.
Arkema says in a news release that it manufactures organic peroxides in Crosby, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of Houston. The company says the chemical compounds must be stored at low temperatures, but it lost refrigerated storage after power went out and backup generators were inundated.
Arkema said it shut down the Crosby site before Harvey made landfall last week, but a crew of 11 had been kept onsite. That group was removed Tuesday.
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7 p.m.
Harris County has confirmed the storm-related death of 64-year-old Alexander Kwoksum Sung, who drowned at a clock repair business Sunday in Houston. He was found in more than a foot of debris on Monday.
Authorities and family members have so far reported more than 10 deaths from Harvey.
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6:45 p.m.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner says he is imposing a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew in order to ensure public safety.
Turner says at a news conference Tuesday that there is no reason for people to be on the streets during those hours.
Police Chief Art Acevedo said violators will be stopped, questioned, searched and arrested.
There have been scattered reports of looting during the flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey.
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6:30 p.m.
Authorities at a small city near Houston say a boater who was helping rescue people from the Harvey floodwaters has located a deceased man.
Friendswood Police spokeswoman Lisa Price said Tuesday authorities are not exactly sure how the man died and they haven't been able to confirm his identity.
Price says officers are still on the scene and the body has been taken to a funeral home.
Authorities earlier had confirmed five deaths that are believed to be related to Harvey. Another six people are missing and presumed dead after a van fell into a bayou.
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6:25 p.m.
One of the nation's busiest trauma centers has abandoned evacuation plans and will discharge patients more quickly as it prepares for an expected surge of new patients with injuries related to Harvey.
Spokesman Bryan McLeod said Tuesday that Ben Taub Hospital's case management workers will help patients who "no longer require hospitalization" get back home or to shelters if their homes are flooded or inaccessible.
McLeod said "we're going to need those beds once the next wave comes."
Ben Taub is Houston's main public hospital of last resort, and many patients are poor and uninsured.
Building repairs continue on a burst sewage pipe and leaks that damaged the basement of the hospital's main building and affected pharmacy, food service and other key operations.
McLeod said the hospital has enough food to last until Thursday, when all hospital staff and administrators will be expected back at work.
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6:10 p.m.
Authorities say an 83-year-old woman has died after her vehicle was caught in floodwaters caused by Tropical Storm Harvey in Walker County, north of Houston.
Officials with the Texas Department of Public safety say a state trooper out checking the road conditions early Tuesday morning came across Ola Mae Crooks' vehicle. Sgt. Richard Standifer with the Texas Department of Public Safety tells The Associated Press that the trooper contacted the swift water rescue team, which recovered the body.
Sgt. Steven McNeil with the Texas Department of Public Safety tells the Huntsville Item newspaper that a preliminary investigation indicates Crooks drowned when her car was swept off a farm-to-market road at the San Jacinto River near her home. McNeil says it appears Crooks was trying to cross the bridge and the swift water carried her vehicle off the road and into the flood waters.
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5:50 p.m.
Hundreds of people are waiting in line at the George R. Brown Convention Center to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster assistance.
Many evacuees arrived with what was in their pockets and nothing else.
John Boyce lived in a west Houston apartment and had to be pulled out by boat. He was initially taken to a local hospital and was given paper scrubs to wear before being taken to the convention center, because his clothes were wet and soaked in sewage.
His two possessions are a cell phone and a wallet. He dried the cards inside the wallet on a piece of cardboard, and his cellphone worked after he held the battery under a bathroom hair dryer.
He took his first shower Tuesday in a mobile unit brought in by the Red Cross.
FEMA is expected to provide assistance to people left homeless in Harvey.
The 49-year-old Boyce hopes he can get enough money to travel to Alaska and join his daughter and grandchild. He says, "I have nothing to go back to here."
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5:30 p.m.
For the drenched Houston region, an end to the rain and a sunny day are almost in sight. But that's only because meteorologists forecast Harvey to come inland Wednesday, then slog through Louisiana and take its downpours north. Arkansas, Tennessee, parts of Missouri and southern Illinois are on alert for Harvey flooding in a couple days.
Harvey is forecast to return inland around the Texas-Louisiana line and close to Beaumont, Texas, early Wednesday morning or late Tuesday night with 45 mph (72 kph) winds and heavy rains, spending much of Wednesday in Louisiana. Along the Gulf Coast, rain is expected to continue Wednesday but taper off.
Dennis Feltgen, National Hurricane Center spokesman says, "Texas is going to get a chance to finally dry out as this system pulls out."
But Feltgen cautioned that this doesn't mean Harvey is ending.
Flash flood watches are already posted for parts of Tennessee, southern Illinois and southeast Missouri.
Those areas and Arkansas could get six or seven inches of rain, but it won't be anything like what southeast Texas got.
The National Weather Service in Houston forecasts less of an inch for the city on Wednesday, and only a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms for Thursday. And then for Friday it says, "mostly sunny."
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5:15 p.m.
In far North Dallas, hundreds of volunteers are handling a steady stream of cars, trucks and trailers loaded with water, diapers and other goods for hurricane relief.
The drop-off point announced by the city of Dallas is managed by the nonprofit Trusted World, which also has other drop off points in office buildings and other public locations.
The volunteers say they have seen thousands of vehicles loaded Tuesday with items to donate for hurricane relief. The volume of vehicles loaded with items to donate extended out onto and down the northbound frontage road of the Dallas North Tollway. One 34-foot trailer belonging to a cabinet maker was filled with bottled water and other items. The drop-off point was open from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
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4:15 p.m.
Harvey has gained a bit of strength but stayed a tropical storm. Its winds increased from 45 mph (72 kph) to 50 mph (80 kph).
But the National Hurricane Center says that reading Tuesday afternoon may be unusual because it was from a low flying hurricane hunter airplane.
Forecasters say heavy rains are continuing to spread over southeastern Texas and southern Louisiana.
The rains in Cedar Bayou, near Mont Belvieu, Texas, reached 51.88 inches (132 centimeters) as of 3:30 p.m. CDT. That's a record for both Texas and the continental United States but it doesn't quite pass the 52 inches (133 centimeters) from tropical cyclone Hiki in Kauai, Hawaii, in 1950 (before Hawaii became a state).
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3:20 p.m.
An official says that a levee protecting a subdivision of homes in a county south of Houston has been fortified after being breached but warns the threat is far from over.
Brazoria County spokeswoman Sharon Trower said Tuesday afternoon that the levee had been fortified. Earlier in the day the county had posted on Twitter: "NOTICE: The levee at Columbia Lakes has been breached!! GET OUT NOW!!"
She says that some water did get through but it wasn't substantial. She warns that authorities don't know how long the fortification will hold. She also notes the breach happened due to rainwater but that the nearby Brazos River continues to spill out of its banks.
Trower says that the mandatory evacuation ordered Sunday morning still stands and notes that most of the residents in the area have left.
Brazoria County Judge Matt Sebesta has said that there are hundreds of homes in the tree-lined subdivision situated around a golf course.
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3:10 p.m.
Federal regulators say dozens of offshore oil-and-gas platforms and rigs in the Gulf of Mexico have been evacuated as Tropical Storm Harvey continues to dump heavy rainfall on the region.
The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said in a statement Tuesday that workers were evacuated from 102 production platforms, which is nearly 14 percent of the 737 manned platforms in the Gulf.
Five of the 10 drilling rigs currently operating in the Gulf also had been evacuated as of noon Tuesday. The bureau estimated that approximately 19 percent of the Gulf's oil and natural gas production was "shut-in," or temporarily halted, as of midday Tuesday. Offshore facilities will be inspected once the storm has passed.
The Texas Gulf is a key area for U.S. oil refineries and oil and gas production.
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2:55 p.m.
Facebook and Google are matching donations to people affected by Hurricane Harvey, the tech giants announced on Tuesday. Facebook says it will match every dollar raised through its platform, up to $1 million, for the Center for Disaster Philanthropy's Hurricane Harvey Recovery Fund. The money will support local recovery and rebuilding efforts. U.S. Facebook users are getting a message at the top of their news feed on how to donate.
Google says it is matching $1 million in donations to the American Red Cross. To donate, go to https://www.google.org/harvey-relief/ . The company also matched donations from employees, and said Tuesday it donated $750,000 between its nonprofit arm, Google.org, and employee contributions to organizations such as the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity and Save the Children.
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2:30 p.m.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner confirmed that police Sgt. Steve Perez has died after he became trapped in his patrol car as he was driving to work.
The Houston Chronicle has reported that the 30-year officer was heading to work Sunday when he became trapped in high water on Interstate 45 in north Harris County and then couldn't get himself out of his car.
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2:05 p.m.
NAACP interim President Derrick Johnson says his organization will carefully monitor government assistance in Houston and other areas to ensure minority neighborhoods get adequate resources following Harvey's destruction on the Gulf Coast.
Johnson says the NAACP's goal will be "to ensure that resources directed from the federal government don't skip neighborhoods."
Johnson told the National Press Club Tuesday that he met with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency earlier in the day. He says the NAACP has a responsibility to make sure "equity is at the table" during recovery efforts, noting that minority neighborhoods suffered disproportionately during Hurricane Katrina.
Johnson is the former president of the Mississippi State Conference NAACP. He says Katrina shows "it is critically important for the association to ensure that the recovery is equitable."
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1:35 p.m.
Gov. John Bel Edwards says Louisiana is offering to shelter storm victims from Texas while the state also helps its own residents who were rescued from Harvey's floodwaters overnight.
Edwards said at a news conference Tuesday in Baton Rouge that he expects Texas officials to decide within 48 hours whether to accept the offer and transport flood victims to Louisiana shelters.
Approximately 500 people were evacuated Monday night and early Tuesday from flooded neighborhoods in southwest Louisiana. Edwards says about 200 of them spent the night in area shelters.
Edwards says more than 600 members of the Louisiana National Guard are on storm-related duty. Many are assisting with rescue efforts.
Edwards says Tropical Storm Harvey was strengthening slightly after moving back into the Gulf of Mexico but wasn't expected to become a hurricane again before its predicted Wednesday landfall in Louisiana.
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1:35 p.m.
Volunteers and donors are lining up outside of the Toyota Center, the downtown arena that's home to the Houston Rockets, in anticipation that it will open as a shelter for Harvey evacuees.
City officials and Red Cross spokesmen have not confirmed that the arena will open to shelter evacuees. But several people who went to the George R. Brown Convention Center to volunteer or drop off clothes were told that the Toyota Center would open Tuesday afternoon. Around 30 people are waiting outside an arena entrance.
The convention center has nearly doubled its original 5,000-person capacity, and Mayor Sylvester Turner says the city may open multiple major shelters to accommodate the thousands of people still seeking shelter.
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1:25 p.m.
Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña says his agency has responded to more than 1,000 calls for service — including 400 water rescues — since Harvey inundated much of the city.
Peña says some fire department crews have been working for three days straight, without a break, and he has implemented procedures to ensure firefighters get the nourishment and rest they need.
Peña says it has been difficult to get in fresh crews to replace firefighters at some locations because in many areas, "we can't get in and out of the fire stations" due to flooding. "We can't deploy them to where we need them with their equipment."
Peña says the fire department is managing the resources it has on hand and will rotate in fresh firefighter crews as it is able to do so.
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1:10 p.m.
The University of Tampa has fired a visiting assistant professor who suggested in a tweet that Harvey's destruction is "instant karma" for Texas because it voted Republican.
Sociology professor Kenneth L. Storey posted the tweet and two responses on Sunday before removing the entire thread and his profile photo.
University spokesman Eric Cardenas said in a statement Tuesday that Storey was fired after the school weathered an outpouring of online outrage over the comments.
The Tampa Bay Times reports Storey issued an apology on Monday, writing that he "never meant to wish ill will upon any group."
In a Facebook post on Monday evening, the university said it "stands in solidarity with the people impacted by Hurricane Harvey."
Officials said another sociology professor will take over Storey's classes.
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1 p.m.
Weather forecasters expect Tropical Storm Harvey to come ashore somewhere near Louisiana's southwestern corner, following its trip through Texas and return to the Gulf.
National Weather Service meteorologist Roger Erickson said Tuesday that officials project a landfall in Cameron Parish around midday Wednesday. Erickson says another 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain is likely across southwest Louisiana.
Forecasters also project heavy rain running east from New Orleans to Pensacola along the Gulf Coast.
Harvey is expected to bring gusts up to 45 mph (70 kph) in coastal areas and gusts of up to 35 mph (55 kph) in Lake Charles and along the Interstate 10 corridor.
Erickson warns that some coastal rivers won't be able to drain rains effectively because Harvey's winds are pushing storm surge into coastal waters, aggravating flooding in places that have already received more than 20 inches of rain.
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12:55 p.m.
The Salvation Army says it has provided more than 5,000 meals in the Houston area since Harvey swamped parts of the city.
A Salvation Army statement Tuesday said the charitable group has deployed 42 mobile units that each can provide up to 1,500 meals per day. The group also sent two field kitchens, which can each serve up to 15,000 meals per day, to emergency personnel and flood survivors.
The Salvation Army says multiple staging areas are being set up across Texas to coordinate relief efforts as Harvey impacts more people. Those sites include Houston, San Antonio, Victoria and Arlington.
Lt. Col. Ron Busroe says donations from the public will help provide food, shelter and other valuable resources to people in Houston.
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12:45 p.m.
There was no escaping Harvey for members of one Southeast Texas family who found themselves on an extended stay at a New Orleans bed-and-breakfast — where sandbags are in place to guard against possible Harvey-related floods.
The Auld Sweet Olive Bed and Breakfast is the new, temporary home for Joe Aldape (ahl-DAH'-pey), his sister Cynthia, his son Joseph and other family members from the League City, Texas, area.
They had forged ahead with New Orleans vacation plans as Harvey developed. As of Tuesday, they had no way to return to their flooded homes. Meanwhile, bands of rain from Harvey prompted flash flood watches in New Orleans.
Bed-and-breakfast owner Nancy Gunn said her business took on water during Aug. 5 flash floods, but that it has not flooded so far during Harvey's rains.
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12:35 p.m.
A South Texas ferry system operated by the state is closed to the public until further notice after at least two vessels were damaged during Hurricane Harvey.
A Texas Department of Transportation spokesman said Tuesday that all seven boats in the Port Aransas (uh-RAN'-suhs) Ferry System are being assessed. Rickey Dailey says the ferries must pass Coast Guard inspection before returning to service.
The ferry system provides free transportation connecting travelers between Aransas Pass on the mainland and Port Aransas on Mustang Island. It's a quarter-mile trip.
The ferries, each capable of transporting at least 20 vehicles, were taken out of service Friday morning as Harvey approached Port Aransas, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Corpus Christi. The area is where Harvey made landfall Friday night.
Dailey says all seven ferries were docked on the Port Aransas side when the storm hit.
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12:30 p.m.
Kim Kardashian West and her famous siblings are donating $500,000 to help victims of Hurricane Harvey.
A spokeswoman for the reality star says she and her mother and sisters have given $250,000 to the Red Cross and $250,000 to the Salvation Army on Tuesday.
Kardashian West announced the donation on Twitter Tuesday, saying: "Houston we are praying for you." She used the hashtag #HoustonStrong.
They are among several stars who've said publicly they are helping hurricane victims. Kevin Hart on Monday announced a $25,000 donation to the Red Cross for storm victims and called on other celebrities to do the same.
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12:25 p.m.
Houston plans to open up at least two more big shelters to house people trying to escape Harvey's floodwaters.
Mayor Sylvester Turner said at a news conference Tuesday that more than 9,000 people are now staying at George R. Brown Convention Center — the largest shelter that has so far been opened. The capacity at the convention center was supposed to be 5,000 people.
Turner says Houston will open up two new big shelters, and possibly a third. He didn't identify where the shelters would be. More details are expected later Tuesday.
Turner says the number of people at the convention center has continued to grow because the facility is housing not only Houston residents but people from surrounding communities outside the city limits who are in need of shelter.
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12:25 p.m.
The mayor of Galveston is asking residents to stay put and off flooded roads as the city anticipates more rain from Harvey.
Mayor Jim Yarbrough says the city of about 50,000 could get up to 4 more inches (10 centimeters) of rain by Wednesday. The mayor says he wants Galveston residents to stay off the roads until conditions improve. Public transportation is not in service in Galveston. The city is 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Houston.
The Port of Galveston remains closed.
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12:20 p.m.
Houston's top law officer is warning would-be looters amid flooding from Harvey.
Police Chief Art Acevedo said during a news conference Tuesday that armed robbers were apprehended overnight and a "handful" of looters were also taken into custody. He didn't say just how many have been arrested on charges related to looting.
Acevedo says he's spoken with the Harris County district attorney's office to ensure anyone suspected of looting is prosecuted. He also says he'll lobby judges and prosecutors to secure the most severe punishment Texas law allows.
State law allows for penalty enhancements for crimes like burglary and robbery that occur during a state of disaster ||||| FILE - In this July 25, 2017 file photo, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo and other law enforcement take part in public safety event in Austin, Texas. Acevedo is known for his blunt speaking-style and... (Associated Press)
HOUSTON (AP) — In a matter of hours Tuesday, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo had warned looters to stay away from his city and then choked back tears as he announced the death of one of his veteran officers.
It's that empathetic side mixed with a heavy dose of no-nonsense law-and-order that makes Acevedo so endearing to the communities he has policed over his 30-year career in law enforcement.
The Cuban-born Acevedo, who came to the U.S. with his family in 1968, has been on the job in the nation's fourth-largest city for less than a year. He is the city's first Hispanic police chief and regularly answers questions from reporters in Spanish. Before Harvey elevated his national presence, he was known locally for his active role on social media and his blunt speaking style, which he showcased in his threat to looters.
"So word to the wise: Don't come to Houston," he said, "because you're going to be caught. And I guarantee you when you take advantage of people and prey on them in these circumstances, that's despicable behavior and we're all going to push hard to make sure you don't see the sunlight anytime soon."
Acevedo grew up in California, started in law enforcement in East Los Angeles with the California Highway Patrol and rose to chief of that agency. He arrived in Houston last November after nine years as Austin's chief.
His tenure in Austin was marked by efforts to strengthen ties with community groups. He faced criticism for several use-of-force incidents, including the 2015 arrest of a black teacher who was thrown to the ground by a white officer and the fatal shooting of an unarmed, naked 17-year-old.
After the shooting, the police union criticized him for speaking at a news conference while standing with groups such as Black Lives Matter.
In another sign that he is not the typical Texas cop, he has been a vocal critic of the so-called anti-sanctuary cities law that expands police powers to question people who have been detained about their immigration status. He was also critical of recently-enacted laws that allow people to openly carry licensed handguns and carry concealed handguns into colleges buildings and dorms.
On Tuesday, Acevedo vividly laid out the details of how his officer, Sgt. Steve Perez, had lost his life trying to get to work when he became trapped in his patrol car in a flooded highway underpass.
His voice cracking, Acevedo chronicled how Perez left home about 4 a.m. Sunday to get to work, even after the sergeant's wife had urged him to stay home. Harvey's torrential rains had started the previous evening and continued to rage.
"I've got work to do," Perez told his wife, according to the chief.
"He has that in his DNA," Acevedo said.
"He was one of the sweetest people I've met," Acevedo said of Perez, whose death Sunday was two days short of his 61st birthday. "I've only been here nine months, we've got 6,500 employees and I knew who Steve Perez was, because he was a sweet, gentle public servant."
When Perez failed to show up at the regular roll call Monday, investigators back tracked his movements and narrowed their search to an inundated underpass.
On Tuesday morning, divers recovered Perez in 16 feet of water. Acevedo said he had "the privilege" of notifying Perez's family.
Mayor Sylvester Turner credited Perez for making "that extra effort" to get to work.
"What we can say is Sgt. Perez fulfilled his mission and the Lord called him home. I would dare not say he lost his life in vain, because he didn't."
As Turner and Acevedo turned from a podium, they hugged.
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Associated Press writer Jim Vertuno in Austin contributed to this report. ||||| Houston Police Sgt. Steve Perez drowns in Harvey floodwaters
Houston Police Department Sgt. Steve Perez Houston Police Department Sgt. Steve Perez Photo: HPD Photo: HPD Image 1 of / 102 Caption Close Houston Police Sgt. Steve Perez drowns in Harvey floodwaters 1 / 102 Back to Gallery
His wife warned him not to go. He insisted.
Steve Perez, a 34-year-veteran of the Houston Police Department, drowned in his car in Harvey floodwaters, a tearful Chief Art Acevedo said Tuesday afternoon.
Perez, days shy of his 61st birthday, was driving to work downtown Sunday morning when he got trapped in high water.
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Acevedo said Perez left home at 4 a.m. and spent more than two hours trying to get to his duty station in downtown Houston. When he could not find a path, he followed department protocol and tried to report to the nearest station, in Kingwood.
When he did not arrive for regular roll call Monday, officers called his wife, who said she had not seen him since Sunday. They narrowed their search to the Hardy Tollway and Beltway 8, Acevedo said.
Acevedo, with tears in his eyes, said officers believed they had found Perez on Monday night but could not recover his body.
"We could not put more officers at risk for what we knew in our hearts would be a recovery mission," he said. Search and rescue crews, including a dive team and a "Cajun Navy" member, recovered his body from an underpass on Tuesday, Acevedo said.
Acevedo called Perez "a sweet, gentle public servant."
READ ALSO: 6 family members feared dead in weekend flooding incident
The officer's death is the 15th fatality in Texas claimed by Hurricane Harvey or the rains it spawned after making landfall.
The storm has pushed the city's first response abilities to their limit; Houston police officers and firefighters and other first-responders have rescued thousands of Houstonians over the past four days.
Mayor Sylvester Turner said Tuesday afternoon that every city employee is giving "extra effort."
"Sometimes you find a way to make it happen, or you die in trying. Sgt. Perez lost his life because he tried to make it happen, he tried to get at his post...that's the ultimate sacrifice," he said.
The officer's union, as well as police agencies across the country, mourned his death.
"We have lost one of our own to this flood," the Houston Police Officers Union said in a post to Twitter.
He is survived by his adult son and daughter and his wife, Cheryl, who told him not to go into work in the heavy rains.
That message was echoed by his father-in-law, a Korean War veteran, Acevedo said.
"His response was, 'I've got work to do,'" he said. "We will continue. This police department is resilient, as is this community and I look forward to taking this man and giving him the honors and his family that he so richly deserves."
Lindsay Ellis contributed. This is a breaking story. Check back soon for more updates.
St. John Barned-Smith covers public safety and major breaking news for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Send tips to [email protected].
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– The death toll attributed to Hurricane Harvey now stands at at least 18, and a Houston cop numbers among the dead. Steve Perez, a 34-year veteran of the department, drowned Sunday while attempting to drive to work in his patrol car, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo confirmed Tuesday. Perez's wife warned him not to try to get to work Sunday morning, but he left his home at 4am and tried for more than two hours to get to his duty station, the Chronicle reports. An official earlier told the paper Perez "took a wrong turn" while trying various routes that might get him downtown (or to the nearest station, as per department protocol), and ultimately became trapped under an overpass. Acevedo said Perez's body was found Monday, but was not able to be recovered from the underpass until Tuesday. He was in 16 feet of water, the AP reports. The officer, who was just days away from his 61st birthday, was "a sweet, gentle public servant," Acevedo says. "Sgt. Perez lost his life because he tried to make it happen, he tried to get at his post" so he could help other hurricane victims. "That's the ultimate sacrifice." When both his wife and his father-in-law warned him not to leave home during the heavy rains, "His response was, 'I've got work to do,'" Acevedo says. "What we can say is Sgt. Perez fulfilled his mission and the Lord called him home." He also leaves behind a son and daughter, People reports.
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San Francisco tour bus crashes in Union Square, multiple injuries [ ] Hide Caption [ ] Show Caption Photos: (KTVU) Mobile App KTVU San Francisco tour bus crashes in Union Squre, injuries reported Multiple people have been injured, at least six critically, after a tour bus crash at Post & Stockton in downtown San Francisco at Union Square.
- 20 people were injured when a double-decker tour bus crashed at the busy Union Square intersection of Post & Stockton in San Francisco Friday afternoon, according to police. San Francisco Police Department said six of those injured are in critical condition. The crash was reported at 2:57 p.m.
SFPD spokesman Albie Esparza said the bus was seen traveling at a high rate of speed when it lost control and continued to crash into a bicyclist, at least two pedestrians, and several cars before it came to a stop when it ran into scaffolding at a nearby construction site. Witnesses described the bus driving erratically.
The driver of the wayward tour bus that crashed into five vehicles is said to be in critical condition. It is not known if the bus driver had a prior medical condition. Investigators said the driver will be tested for drugs and alcohol.
SF Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White said it was too early to speculate about what caused him to lose control. The driver was conscious and able to speak when firefighters pulled him from the wreckage, Hayes-White said.
"The police department will investigate what those circumstances involved, whether it was mechanical failure, whether it was driver error. It's way too early to tell right now," she said.
Officer Esparza couldn't immediately say which bus company owned the vehicle.
The fire department said six people had to be extricated, at least two of them from underneath the bus as well as one trapped on the top deck. As many as 30 people were believed to have been on board when the vehicle went out of control, officials said.
SF Fire Dept. spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge updated the situation saying three people had suffered moderate to life threatening injuries, and that no children were injured.
Talmadge said a minimum of five cars are totaled and that the bus lost control for several blocks striking some pedestrians and the cyclist along the way. The cyclist is said to be among those who are critically injured.
Ambulances responded to 260 Stockton in front of Tiffany's on the same block where the former Levi's store is under construction to make way for a new Apple store.
John Zimmer, who works at the park, said the bus didn't seem to slow until it hit the construction scaffolding.
He said he and others tried to put up a perimeter to keep tourists and others away from the live electrical lines until authorities arrived.
Hoda Emam said she rounded a corner at the square immediately after the crash to see a chaotic scene unfolding, with emergency workers sprinting toward the injured as emergency vehicles arrived with their sirens blaring. Wrecked cars were scattered along the bus' path.
SFPD said Post Street is shutdown from the 200 to 500 blocks. Triage had been set up at the scene, but all the patients were said to have been taken to area hospitals.
Due to the SFPD activity in the area, Muni lines 8, 30, 38, 38R, & 45 may see delays due to residual traffic on nearby streets.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Fire officials added that overhead power lines are down in the area. PG&E is also at the scene. ||||| Tour bus hit scaffolding in Union Square SF. Corner of Post and Stockton cc. @KatieABC7 @abc7newsBayArea pic.twitter.com/yjh0zQYUtq — M?nica Quiroz (@monica) November 14, 2015
SF Fire Dept. says driver of bus was driving erratically for at least one block before hitting scaffolding. pic.twitter.com/RMGgMmunWC — Lyanne Melendez (@LyanneMelendez) November 14, 2015
Number of injuries from #accident near Union Square: 20. pic.twitter.com/YKQkvjdBq9 — Lyanne Melendez (@LyanneMelendez) November 14, 2015
Tour bus hit scaffolding in Union Square SF. Corner of Post and Stockton cc. @KatieABC7 @abc7newsBayArea pic.twitter.com/yjh0zQYUtq — M?nica Quiroz (@monica) November 14, 2015
SFPD: tour bus was speeding & out of control; unknown if mechanical prob or driver health prob. @abc7newsBayArea pic.twitter.com/DnTBFLr9yM — Katie Marzullo (@KatieABC7) November 14, 2015
On scene at #UnionSquare where tour bus hit scaffolding & other cars. 18 people hurt. @abc7newsBayArea pic.twitter.com/wTKmqfQFYm — Katie Marzullo (@KatieABC7) November 14, 2015
Twenty people were injured, including six critically, after a tour bus collided with several vehicles at a construction site in downtown San Francisco. The crash happened Friday afternoon at Post and Stockton streets where a new Apple store is being built.Officials say all six of those with critical injuries are being treated at San Francisco General Hospital. They include four men and two women between 20 and 60 years of age. The other 14 victims were taken to other hospitals.According to officials, the driver of that open-air double-decker bus was driving erratically and speeding for at least two blocks before ending at the site.Police say he hit a bicyclist, who is in critical condition, before hitting several vehicles and scaffolding which then fell on more cars and people. That scaffolding is part of construction at the site of the new Apple store."According to eyewitnesses, they saw the bus, which is double-decker open-air bus, driving erratically down Post Street," said San Francisco Fire Department spokesperson Mindy Talmadge. "In the process, a few vehicles were struck then the bus came to rest against some scaffolding which fell into the street."First responders had to pull people out because they were pinned beneath the bus and scaffolding."It was like a bomb going off. It just kept going boom, boom, boom, boom, boom like it wasn't gonna stop," witness John Zimmer said.Police say they will investigate to determine what caused this accident."We will look at everything," said Officer Albie Esparza. "We will look at any mechanical malfunctions, we will look at any DUI or alcohol or narcotics as standard operating procedures go for collisions."Officials say some victims were treated at the scene but others, including the driver and the bicyclist, were taken to the hospital.The hospital has said very little about the nature of their injuries, but a source inside San Francisco general filled us in on some of the details. Of the five critical patients, two have major head injuries and one has an extremely serious broken leg. Those three patients are scheduled to be in surgery on Saturday.Friends and family members of some of the victims were at the hospital Friday evening.There were earlier reports that PG&E; lines had been affected, but that is not the case. The lines that fell belong to Muni, so crews were busy Friday evening repairing them.It took hours to remove the scaffolding and tow away the damaged vehicles, so streets in the area were closed until late Friday night. ||||| At least 20 people were injured when a tour bus crashed in San Francisco's Union Square Friday afternoon, according to the San Francisco Fire Department. Jean Elle reports. (Published Friday, Nov. 13, 2015)
A double-decker tourist bus careened wildly out of control Friday in San Francisco's crowded Union Square, running down a bicyclist, at least two pedestrians and striking several cars before it plowed into scaffolding lining a construction site. Twenty people were hurt, including six critically.
Twelve people suffered minor injuries in the crash that happened just before 3 p.m., San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White said. The others suffered moderate injuries.
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Union Square was crowded with shoppers and tourists when, according to eyewitnesses, the bus came roaring across two city blocks at a high rate of speed. It struck several moving vehicles in its path as well as the bicyclist and the two pedestrians, the latter ending up trapped underneath the vehicle after it plowed into the scaffolding.
It also knocked down several power lines used to propel the city's fleet of electrical buses.
Firefighters had to extricate the two people under the bus as well as one trapped on the top deck, Hayes-White said. As many as 30 people were believed to have been on board when the vehicle went out of control, officials said.
The driver was conscious and able to speak when firefighters pulled him from the wreckage, Hayes-White said. But she added it was too early to speculate about what caused him to lose control.
"The police department will investigate what those circumstances involved, whether it was mechanical failure, whether it was driver error. It's way too early to tell right now," she said.
Calls and messages for the bus operator, City Sightseeing San Francisco, weren't immediately returned.
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Union Square is one of the city's most popular tourist destinations with several high-end stores, including Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue, as well as its Union Square Park and skating rink. The scaffolding was in front of what is going to be a new Apple store.
John Zimmer, who works at the park, said the bus didn't seem to slow until it hit the construction scaffolding.
He said he and others tried to put up a perimeter to keep tourists and others away from the live electrical lines until authorities arrived.
Hoda Emam said she rounded a corner at the square immediately after the crash to see a chaotic scene unfolding, with emergency workers sprinting toward the injured as emergency vehicles arrived with their sirens blaring. Wrecked cars were scattered along the bus' path.
"Everybody was asking what's going on," said Emam, a Bay Area resident in San Francisco on personal business. "There were still ambulances and fire trucks and paramedics with stretchers coming up."
Police officers were on top of the double-decker bus apparently attending to the injured, she said, adding that another three or four people lay in the street being treated.
Six of the injured are in critical condition and being treated at San Francisco General Hospital, hospital spokesman Brent Andrew said. They are three men and three women between the ages of 20 and 60, he said.
Three of the injured were sent to the emergency room at St. Francis Hospital, hospital spokeswoman Robin O'Connor said. She declined to provide any further information, citing privacy issues.
Copyright Associated Press
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– At least 19 people are injured—five critically—after a double-decker tour bus lost control and crashed into a construction site in San Francisco's popular Union Square on Friday, KTVU reports. It's unknown what caused the open-air bus to lose control, but it traveled several blocks afterward, hitting cars, pedestrians, and a bicyclist before finally stopping. According to ABC7, the bus was finally stopped by some scaffolding, which fell into the street. A witness says they saw people falling from the scaffolding. KTVU reports at least three people were trapped under the bus after it crashed, and at least five cars were totaled as it careened down the street. Victims had to be extricated from four damaged cars, according to ABC7. NBC Bay Area reports there were approximately 30 people on the tour bus when it crashed. An investigation is ongoing into what caused the bus to lose control.
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Prosecutors reinstated attempted murder charges against a policeman leading the murder investigation into world-famous athlete Oscar Pistorius, in the latest twist in a case that has captivated South Africa and threatens to bring down a national idol.
Investigating officer Hilton Botha sits inside the witness box during the bail hearing for Oscar Pistorius at the magistrate court in Pretoria, South Africa, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. South Africa's National... (Associated Press)
Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius's father Henke Pistorius, right, with daughter Aimee, left, during his bail hearing at the magistrate court in Pretoria, South Africa, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. The lead... (Associated Press)
FILE- In this Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013 file photo, Investigating officer Hilton Botha, sits inside the court witness box during the Oscar Pistorius bail hearing at the magistrate court in Pretoria, South... (Associated Press)
Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius stands inside the court as a police officer looks on during his bail hearing at the magistrate court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013. A South African... (Associated Press)
Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius stands during his bail hearing at the magistrate court in Pretoria, South Africa, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority acknowledged that... (Associated Press)
The announcement that detective Hilton Botha faces reinstated charges in connection with a 2011 shooting incident came a day after he testified for the prosecution in Pistorius' bail hearing, and by all accounts bungled his appearance. He acknowledged Wednesday that nothing in Pistorius' account of the fatal Valentine's Day shooting of his girlfriend contradicted what police had discovered.
The spokeswoman for the nation's prosecutors urged that Botha be removed from the Pistorius case.
Pistorius, an Olympian whose lower legs were amputated when he was less than a year old, claims he mistook girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp for an intruder when he shot her in a locked bathroom in his home.
Bulewa Makeke, spokeswoman for South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority, acknowledged Thursday that the timing of the attempted murder charges is "totally weird" but said Botha should be dropped from the case against the world-famous athlete. However Makeke said the charges against Botha were reinstated against Botha on Feb. 4, before his testimony Wednesday and even before Steenkamp was killed. Police said they were notified Wednesday of the reinstated charges which stem from a 2011 shooting incident in which Botha and two other officers allegedly fired at a minibus.
Makeke indicated the charge was reinstated because more evidence had been gathered, saying the charge against Botha was initially dropped "because there was not enough evidence at the time. But then, obviously the investigation continued up to the fourth (of) February and the senior public prosecutor was in a position to make a decision to reinstate the case."
She emphasized that it is a decision for police and not prosecutors whether to take Botha off the Pistorius case, one that has riveted the world's attention and is bringing scrutiny on South Africa's justice system.
"Is he going to be dropped from the case? I don't know. I think the right thing would be for him to be dropped," Makeke said outside Pretoria Magistrate's Court shortly before Pistorius' bail hearing went into a third day. "Obviously there will be consultations between the two (police and prosecutors) to determine what is the best course of action."
Pistorius' main sponsor Nike, meanwhile, suspended its contract with the Paralympic champion, following on from eyewear manufacturer Oakley's decision to suspend its sponsorship Monday. Nike said in a brief statement on its website: "We believe Oscar Pistorius should be afforded due process and we will continue to monitor the situation closely."
Botha was summoned by the magistrate at the start of Thursday's bail hearing for Pistorius. The hearing began on Tuesday and is already running behind schedule, with it expected to have been completed on Wednesday.
Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair asked the defense: "Do you think there will be some level of shock if the accused is released?"
Defense lawyer Barry Roux responded: "I think there will be a level of shock in this country if he is not released."
Earlier Thursday, Nair questioned Botha over delays in processing records from phones found in Pistorius' house following the killing of Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model and budding reality TV contestant.
"It seems to me like there was a lack of urgency," Nair said as the efficiency of the police investigation was again questioned after Botha conceded to a string of blunders on the second day of the hearing.
They did not discuss anything relating to the attempted murder charges against Botha and if he should continue on the case. Police say that Botha and two other police officers fired at a minibus they were trying to stop, and will appear in court in May to face seven counts of attempted murder.
Pistorius, in the same gray suit, blue shirt and gray tie combination he has worn throughout the bail hearing, stood ramrod straight in the dock as the magistrate arrived Thursday and then sat calmly looking at his hands as Roux picked apart the prosecution's argument. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the athlete was slumped over and sobbing uncontrollably at times as detail was read out of how Steenkamp died in his house.
Roux continued to cast doubt on the state's case and the investigation, following up after lead investigator Botha conceded Wednesday that police had left a 9 mm slug in the toilet where Steenkamp died, had lost track of illegal ammunition found in the home and that Botha himself had walked through the scene without protective shoe covers, possibly contaminating the area.
"The poor quality of the evidence offered by investigative officer Botha exposed the disastrous shortcomings of the state's case," Roux said Thursday. "We cannot sit back and take comfort that he is telling the truth."
Roux also raised issue of intent, saying the killing was not "pre-planned" and referred to a "loving relationship" between the two.
He said Thur an autopsy showed that Steenkamp's bladder was empty, she suggesting she had gone to use the toilet as Pistorius claims. Prosecutors claim Steenkamp had fled to the toilet to avoid an enraged Pistorius.
"The known forensics is consistent" with Pistorius' statement, Roux said. The lawyer said the evidence does not even show Pistorius committed a murder.
Botha also testified earlier Thursday that he had investigated a 2009 complaint against Pistorius by a woman who claimed the athlete had assaulted her. He said that Pistorius had not hurt her and that the woman had actually injured herself when she kicked a door at Pistorius' home.
Botha was only questioned for 15 minutes before he was excused by Nair, but South Africa's prosecuting authority and the police still had to make a decision over whether the 24-year police veteran would be removed from the investigation because of the charges against him.
In summing up the defense argument in the bail hearing, Roux asked that bail restrictions be eased for Pistorius, who then began crying softly.
___
AP Sports Writer Gerald Imray in Johannesburg contributed to this report. ||||| Media caption Police chief Mangwashi Phiyega said Detective Botha would be replaced by Lt Gen Vinesh Moonoo
South Africa's top detective is to take over the Oscar Pistorius inquiry amid attempted murder accusations against current lead officer Hilton Botha.
Detective Botha was removed pending the result of an investigation into seven counts of attempted murder.
National police commissioner Mangwashi Phiyega announced the change after a third day of testimony at Mr Pistorius's bail hearing.
Mr Pistorius, 26, denies murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, 29.
Ms Steenkamp died after being shot three times at Mr Pistorius' home on 14 February.
'No embarrassment'
Ms Phiyega said the police had received feedback from state prosecutors about Det Botha only on Wednesday.
Analysis The news Hilton Botha is facing reinstated charges of attempted murder has stunned everyone. The immediate question is what impact, if any, the news may have on the prosecution argument that Mr Pistorius should not be allowed bail pending trial. The timing of the reinstatement of the charges is still unclear and the National Prosecuting Authority says they are in no way connected to the athlete's murder case. It is curious, though, that the information about Det Botha was not provided to the Pistorius defence team or, apparently, to the prosecution. Some might argue that Det Botha, who wilted under strenuous cross-examination by the defence, eventually conceding that he had not yet seen any evidence to contradict the athlete's version of events, has already done enough damage to the prosecution's call for Mr Pistorius to be denied bail and that the new revelations may not affect the magistrate's decision significantly.
She described him as an "experienced detective" who was not yet facing any criminal charges.
However, she said she was using her authority as national police chief to ask Lt Gen Vineshkumar Moonoo to take over the Pistorius case.
Gen Moonoo is reported to be a veteran of some 30 years service. He will work with the police chief in Gauteng province on a case Ms Phiyega said required attention "at a national level".
"We recognise the significance, the importance and the severity of the matter," she said of the Pistorius case.
She denied that the decision to replace Det Botha was embarrassing for the police. He has not been suspended and could remain a potential witness in any trial.
The BBC's Pumza Fihlani, in Pretoria, says the claims against Det Botha refer to a 2009 incident in which he and several other officers allegedly opened fired on a minibus taxi carrying seven passengers when the driver apparently disobeyed an order to stop.
The detective is expected to appear in court in May, reports say.
'Poor quality evidence'
In court on Thursday, defence and prosecution lawyers offered their final arguments.
The magistrate is expected to issues his ruling on Mr Pistorius's bail application on Friday.
Media caption Journalist Alex Eliseev: Why wasn't this revealed in court?
Lead defence lawyer Barry Roux asked for the charge of premeditated murder to be downgraded, and said Det Botha's contradictory evidence on Wednesday had undermined the prosecution's case.
Mr Roux said: "The poor quality of the evidence offered by investigative officer Botha exposed the disastrous shortcomings of the state's case."
The defence counsel said the fact that Mr Pistorius had carried Ms Steenkamp downstairs showed he was desperate to save her life.
Mr Roux added that the "known forensics is consistent" with the sprinter's version of events, and that a post-mortem examination showed Ms Steenkamp had an empty bladder at the time of her death.
That would indicate that she visited the bathroom of her own accord, rather than to escape her boyfriend, he said.
On Wednesday, Det Botha told the court that the trajectory of gunshots through the bathroom door indicated that Mr Pistorius, a double amputee, was wearing his prosthetic legs and shot downwards through the door.
This contradicted an earlier account given by Mr Pistorius, who said he was walking on his stumps and grabbed his gun because he felt vulnerable when he thought an intruder had entered his home.
But Det Botha also amended his testimony on the proximity of the witness who he said had heard arguments.
He said police had lost track of ammunition found inside the house, and was also accused of not wearing protective clothing at the crime scene.
The defence also countered police suggestions that testosterone and needles had been found in Mr Pistorius's bedroom, arguing instead that the substance was a herbal remedy called Testocompasutium co-enzyme.
On Thursday, prosecutor Gerrie Nel told the court that Mr Pistorius should not be granted bail simply because he is famous.
He branded Mr Pistorius as a man "prone to violence" who threatened Ms Steenkamp and eventually killed her.
He was critical of Mr Pistorius' sworn affidavit read to the court on Tuesday, said the athlete had a history of violence as described him as "willing and ready to kill". ||||| Final arguments began today in the bail hearing of Oscar Pistorius, who is charged with premeditated murder in the killing of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, in the early hours of Valentine's Day.
Today saw the case's lead investigator, Hilton Botha, removed from the case after prosecutors reinstated attempted murder charges against him in connection with a 2011 incident. Read details about today's hearing below, or check out our FULL STORY.
Also, follow @RobynCurnow who was tweeting from inside the Pretoria courtroom.
[Updated at 9:04 a.m. ET] The court has adjourned proceedings for the day.
[Updated at 8:41 a.m. ET] The state makes the argument that Pistorius shows no realization of what he has done.
[Updated at 8:38 a.m. ET]
Magistrate: is it possible the accused could 'orchestrate' the scene after shooting? Re positioning of gun and cellphones—
Robyn Curnow (@RobynCurnowCNN) February 21, 2013
[Updated at 8:28 a.m. ET] The state begins its closing arguments. CNN's Robyn Curnow tweets from the court that there will be no decision on bail today.
[Updated at 8:10 a.m. ET] The magistrate asks if there will be shock should Pistorius be released on bail. Defense says there'll be shock if he isn't.
[Updated at 8:04 a.m. ET] The magistrate says there is evidence relating to previous violent behavior by Pistorius. That evidence includes claims of threats made by Pistorius and the discharging of a weapon at a restaurant.
[Updated at 7:50 a.m ET] Pistorius comes back in from holding cells. So does magistrate. No mention of "threat'"
[Updated at 7:44 a.m. ET] Threat of some kind reported. Magistrate quickly adjourns hearing.
[Upsated at 7:36 a.m. ET] Pistorius defense claims that evidence presented by police was extremely poor – amounting to a monumental collapse of the state's case.
[ Updated at 7:33 a.m. ET] Pistorius is utterly still – he hasn't moved or twitched. So different from the weeping, shaking man from two days ago.
[Updated at 7:24 a.m. ET] Now Pistorius' defense is saying there was no heated argument between the track star and his girlfriend. This would directly challenge evidence from witnesses relating to loud voices heard at 3 a.m.
[Updated at 7:03 a.m. ET] The magistrate asks: Why didn't Steenkamp call out from the toilet when Pistorius shouted that there was an intruder?
[Updated at 6:53 a.m. ET] Defense: Reeva likely to have "frantically locked the door" if she heard Pistorius shouting at a burglar. That's why door was locked.
[Updated at 6:39 a.m. ET] Defense says autopsy showed Reeva Steenkamp's bladder was empty. That would be consistent with someone going to toilet at 3 a.m.
[Updated at 6:02 a.m. ET] The defense says that if Pistorius wanted to kill his girlfriend, he could have done it in the bedroom.
[Updated at 5:47 a.m. ET] The defense says the evidence doesn't show that Pistorius committed murder. It is arguing for a lesser charge. Pistorius sits with his head bent.
[Updated at 5:42 a.m. ET] Final arguments start.
[Updated at 5:32 a.m. ET] The State reads out the Sarie article in which Pistorius is quoted as saying the mayor built him a house in a small Italian town.
[Updated at 5:30 a.m. ET] The State offers a Sarie Magazine interview with Pistorius as proof that he said he has a house in Italy. The Defense says he doesn't.
[Updated at 5:20 a.m. ET] Court is back in session.
[Updated at 5:01 a.m. ET] Nike has suspended its contract with Oscar Pistorius.
"We believe Oscar Pistorius should be afforded due process and we will continue to monitor the situation closely," the apparel company said in a statement.
[Updated at 4:34 a.m. ET] The judge adjourns court while State goes to find Botha.
[Updated at 4:32 a.m. ET] The prosecution says neither they nor the investigating officer, Botha, were aware that he was facing seven counts of attempted murder. They said they thought the charges were withdrawn. The judge wants the State to call the investigating officer.
[Updated at 4:07 a.m. ET]
This is the wall of photographers awaiting #OscarPistorius http://t.co/KnPewKO96i—
Robyn Curnow (@RobynCurnowCNN) February 21, 2013
[Updated at 2:55 a.m. ET] The women's branch of South Africa's ruling party wants to know why Pistorius is being detained in a holding cell at the Brooklyn Police Station – and not at Central Prison or Newlock where other defendants awaiting trial are kept.
"If there is some special circumstance that permits this, authorities must share this with the public as they are setting a bad precedent," said a statement from the African National Congress Women's League. "All should be treated equally before the law no matter your standing in society."
The group said Pistorius is getting special treatment, adding that his family can visit him even outside visiting hours – unlike families of other inmates.
"If Pistorious is denied bail he must be moved to a proper prison facility with others accused of similar crimes," the statement said. "A strong message must be sent out that wealth and celebrity cannot give you an advantage over the law."
Pistorius' lawyers requested Brooklyn last week so that they could have access to their client over the weekend. The state did not object.
[Updated at6 8:34 a.m. ET]
Magistrate: is it possible the accused could 'orchestrate' the scene after shooting? Re positioning of gun and cellphones—
Robyn Curnow (@RobynCurnowCNN) February 21, 2013
[Updated at 2:12 a.m. ET] Here is the full family statement:
Following the recent tragic events and the enormous global interest, the family of Oscar Pistorius has taken the decision to devote his official website to the latest news about developments as well as messages of support. The website will provide the opportunity for the media to make enquiries or requests but for understandable legal reasons it may not always be possible to respond or comment. The Pistorius family and Oscar’s management company have been inundated with messages of support and condolences for Oscar and for the family of Reeva Steenkamp from all over the world. Mr Arnold Pistorius, uncle of Oscar, said on behalf of the family: “We believe that this is an appropriate way to deal with the expressions of support we have received as well as keeping the media informed about any key developments in the case. “We have every confidence as a family that when the world has heard the full evidence that this will prove to be a terrible and tragic accident which has changed many lives forever. We are praying for everyone touched by this tragedy.”
[Updated at 2:10 a.m. ET] Oscar Pistorius' family disputed the prosecution's contention that a banned substance was found in the athlete's house. "Oscar, was not using any drugs listed on the World Anti-Doping Agency banned substances, usage of which would ban him from competing in athletics competitions," the family said in a statement Thursday. "The IAAF will have records of every single drugs test that was undertaken in and out of competitions. He has been tested on a number of occasions during the last couple of years and he has never failed a drug test to date."
[Updated at 2:06 a.m. ET] Pistorius' family said Thursday it will now use his official website, OscarPistorius.com, to disseminate information about the case.
"We believe that this is an appropriate way to deal with the expressions of support we have received as well as keeping the media informed about any key developments in the case," said Arnold Pistorius, his uncle.
[Posted at 1:20 a.m. ET] The sensational case of Oscar Pistorius took a new turn Thursday when police said that the lead investigator is facing seven counts of attempted murder stemming from an incident four years ago.
That investigator, Hilton Botha, and several other police officers apparently fired at a minibus they were chasing in late 2009, spokesman Neville Malila told CNN affiliate eNCA.
The officers were allegedly drunk at the time, the spokesman said.
They were arrested on seven counts of attempted murder - for the number of occupants in the minibus, the spokesman said. ||||| Oscar Pistorius was estimated to receive endorsements worth more than $2m a year. Two days ago, his agent assured the media that these sponsorships were safe. Now it's being reported that Oakley has cancelled its contract with Pistorius and Nike has "no further plans" to use him in advertisements.
Pistorius was one of the world's most in-demand sports personalities for marketers who couldn't get enough of his inspirational back-story, athletic success and boyish good looks. His sponsorship deal with Nike has received the most attention, following a series of other sportsmen backed by Nike who turned out to be brand liabilities. But his endorsements stretched well beyond the footwear giant, taking in British telecoms firm BT, sunglasses maker Oakley, and French designer Thierry Mugler, to name just a few.
When news first broke of the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp in uncertain circumstances, many advertisers seemed to be adopting a wait-and-see attitude. The only brand which responded quickly was local TV broadcaster M-Net, which took down billboards featuring Pistorius's face – part of an ongoing campaign linking Pistorius to Oscar-winning movies – on the day that Steenkamp was confirmed dead. After a Nike ad proclaiming that Pistorius was the "bullet in the chamber" began to circulate rapidly on social media, Nike pulled this one particular ad, but initially took no wider action.
On Sunday, Pistorius's agent, Peet van Zyl, told journalists that sponsors remained committed to the athlete despite the murder charge. But as further details of the shooting have emerged, it appears the marketers' feet are feeling distinctly chilly.
Nike told Associated Press on Monday that Oscar Pistorius would not feature in future campaigns. Spokesman KeJuan Wilkins was staying mum, however, on the issue of whether Nike had previously planned to use Pistorius in imminent advertising, though it seems likely – Pistorius had a jam-packed year scheduled, including an appearance in Australia in March which has now been cancelled. Oakley took a more definitive step, suspending its contract with Pistorius.
On a local level, Pistorius was one of a number of South African celebrities featuring in the "It Gets Better" campaign, where high-profile figures give support to gay teenagers. Pistorius was shown in the video saying, "Just remember that you're special. You don't have to worry. You don't have to change. Take a deep breath and remember it will get better." On Monday the campaign's organiser, UCT's Andrew Barry, confirmed to Mambaonline that "given the recent circumstances, the video is no longer part of the programme."
A spokeswoman for Thierry Mugler, the fragrance house for which Pistorius fronts A*Men, a men's scent, declined to comment on the matter last week. But as of Tuesday, Mugler appeared to have removed Pistorius's image from its website. In light of current circumstances, the brand may be regretting the blurb chosen to link the athlete to its scent: "Part man, part god and unchained by the conventional codes of seduction, he is defined by his interior strength and his desire to conquer… Oscar Pistorius possesses the masculine values which Thierry Mugler holds so dear."
|
– Lead detective Hilton Botha is now off the Oscar Pistorius murder case now that he's facing his own attempted murder charges, the police commissioner announced today. A new detective has been brought in, the BBC reports. A spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority had earlier told Reuters that the decision to reinstate charges against Botha was made on Feb. 4, "way before the issue of Pistorius came to light or the murder of Reeva was committed. It's completely unrelated to this trial." Another spokesperson for the NPA calls the timing "totally weird," the AP reports. She says the charges were reinstated when more evidence came to light. More recent developments: The sponsor fallout has begun: Nike suspended its endorsement contract with Pistorius, which it's had since 2007, today, Reuters reports. The company stressed in a statement that Pistorius "should be afforded due process" and promised to "monitor the situation closely." Oakley has also canceled its contract with Pistorius, according to the Guardian. Still safe for now are other endorsement deals with French designer Thierry Mugler and British telecom company BT, though pictures of Pistorius seem to have been removed from Mugler's website. Today, the final day of Pistorius' bail hearing, the judge abruptly adjourned the hearing, citing some sort of threat outside the building, CNN reports. It was apparently resolved within minutes, because the hearing resumed and the threat was not mentioned again. Click for the latest developments.
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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. ||||| Well-meaning adults decided a good prescription for schoolchildren with attention issues was a toy that promised to divert nervous energy. They called it the “fidget spinner.”
What they never imagined is that these spinners would become hot items in American classrooms, and that all the fidgeting with them would someday create an epidemic of mass distraction.
Bill... ||||| Florida-based creator Catherine Hettinger couldn’t afford the patent on the ubiquitous playground toy but insists she’s ‘pleased’ about its sudden popularity
As the inventor of the original fidget spinner – the ubiquitous new toy that has quickly become a craze in playgrounds around the world – Catherine Hettinger should be enjoying the high life.
Secret Teacher: Fidget cubes need kicking out of class Read more
But the Florida-based creator is not making a penny off her genius invention, even as global sales of the gadget she envisioned two decades ago as a way to entertain her seven-year-old daughter soar into the tens of millions and suppliers struggle to meet massive demand.
Hettinger held the patent on finger spinners for eight years, but surrendered it in 2005 because she could not afford the $400 (£310) renewal fee.
“I just didn’t have the money. It’s very simple,” she said.
The palm-sized spinners consist of a ball bearing which sits in a three-pronged plastic device which can then be flicked and spun round. Some schools in the UK and the US have banned the devices, but some teachers believe that they can help children concentrate – especially those with ADHD.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Catherine Hettinger, creator of the fidget spinner, with her granddaughter Chloe. Photograph: Richard Luscombe
Now, while the manufacturers and retailers who are selling the modern-day versions of the toy rack up huge profits, Hettinger, 62, is downsizing from her tiny house to a cheaper condo, wondering whether to get her disconnected telephone line reinstated, and figuring out how to afford “a car that truly works”.
“It’s challenging, being an inventor,” she told the Guardian during a coffee-shop interview near her home in Winter Park, a historic suburban city just east of Orlando.
“Only about 3% of inventions make any money. I’ve watched other inventors mortgage their houses and lose a lot. You take roommates, you get help from friends and family. It is hard.”
Hettinger accepts that had she been able to afford to keep the patent, she would now likely be sitting on a sizeable fortune. “I wouldn’t have any problem. That would have been good,” she said.
But while she joins a notable list of others – including Tim Berners-Lee, founder of the world wide web, and hoverboard inventor Shane Chen, who by accident or design failed to cash in personally on their world-changing creations – Hettinger insists that she is not bitter over the lost opportunity, and is instead “encouraged” by the spinners’ sudden popularity.
“Several people have asked me: ‘Aren’t you really mad?’ But for me I’m just pleased that something I designed is something that people understand and really works for them,” she said.
“There’s just a lot of circumstances in modern life when you’re boxed in, you’re cramped in, and we need this kind of thing to de-stress. It’s also fun. That’s the thing about culture, once everybody starts doing it, it’s kind of OK.”
The inventor of the hoverboard says he's made no money from it Read more
Her views are not shared by increasing numbers of schools, who are banning children from bringing or using the spinners because they are seen as a distraction. But Hettinger said she was pleased that in other circumstances, schools were finding the devices helpful. “I know a special needs teacher who used it with autistic kids, and it really helped to calm them down,” she said.
Hettinger says the origins of the spinner lie in “one horrible summer” back in the early 1990s when she was suffering from myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disorder that causes muscle weakness, and was also caring for her daughter Sara, now 30.
“I couldn’t pick up her toys or play with her much at all, so I started throwing things together with newspaper and tape then other stuff,” she said. “It wasn’t really even prototyping, it was some semblance of something, she’d start playing with it in a different way, I’d repurpose it.”
After several redesigns, a basic, non-mechanical version of the spinner was born. “We kind of co-invented it – she could spin it and I could spin it, and that’s how it was designed,” she added.
Hettinger, who spent her childhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, spent the next few years exhibiting and selling upgraded versions of her design at arts and craft fairs around Florida. “The project was great, I essentially broke even, I sold units and tested it with a couple of thousand people,” she said.
She also flew with her daughter to Washington DC for an appointment with the US patent and trademark office and secured a patent on her design in 1997.
But just when it looked like her original spinner was on track for wider commercial success, Hettinger was hit by a disappointment.
The toy manufacturing giant Hasbro, who had been testing the design, decided not to proceed to production – effectively leaving the project to wither and eventually die with the lapse of the patent in 2005.
“I’m a techie, I’m not a person who closes multimillion-dollar deals,” Hettinger said. “If there had been money or I’d had a venture capitalist back then, it would have been different.”
Undeterred, Hettinger is currently working contract engineering jobs to earn income while helping advise others at meetings of the inventors council of central Florida, and also has plans to manufacture and sell her original spinner design if a Kickstarter appeal can raise enough funds.
It is not quite how things could have turned out had she retained the fidget spinner patent and secured her financial future, but Hettinger insists she has only one regret: “I would probably be doing more inventing,” she said. ||||| Catherine Hettinger has an inventor’s mind: When she notices a problem, she tries to imagine a toy or device that can remedy it.
So when she heard about young boys throwing rocks at police officers and people walking past them while visiting her sister in Israel, her wheels started turning. She started brainstorming devices that could distract young children and provide them with a soothing toy to play with.
First, she thought of a soft rock that kids could throw. But then she tossed that idea aside, still thinking about other options when she returned to her home in Orlando, Fla. It was there that she eventually developed the idea that would become the original fidget spinner — more than two decades before the wildly popular device became the must-have toy for both kids and adults this year.
Buy now: Fidget Spinner, $26, Amazon
“It started as a way of promoting peace, and then I went on to find something that was very calming,” Hettinger, now in her 60s, told MONEY of the fidget spinners, which she first began imagining back in the 1980s.
The toys now come in different designs and have hit the mass market after the patent expired on Hettinger’s original product in 2005, meaning companies can sell the product independently from her. But Hettinger isn’t upset about the sudden popularity and capitalization of her invention. In fact, she’s excited about it.
“Maybe if it was some kind of exploitative product — like a new style of cigarettes — and my only motivation was to make money, I’d have a different attitude,” Hettinger said. “But I am just thrilled.”
Catherine Hettinger courtesy of Sara Hettinger
READ MORE: Meet the Fidget Spinner, a New Toy Craze Entrancing Kids and Grownups Alike
The modern iterations of the devices made out of metal or plastic and have a bearing in the middle that allows it to be spun. Some of the products have prongs on them, while others are circular. The spinners, which range in price from just a few dollars to hundreds, are intended to calm nerves and help with stress and anxiety. The handheld gadgets are now so popular that different versions of fidget spinners make up all of Amazon’s top 20 best sellers for toys and games as of May 2.
“When you start seeing these things flying off the shelf at your local 7-11, you know things are heating up,” Hettinger joked.
Hettinger grew up in Oklahoma and attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York — a college known for its engineering and technology programs — before moving to Florida. The first fidget spinner debuted in 1993, and her patent approved four years later. But they didn’t take off — instead, she made rounds at fairs selling a couple thousand devices and frequently tried selling them to toy companies.
Once she had her patent, she booked a meeting with Hasbro, the third-largest toy maker in the world, and even found herself using the fidget spinner to ease her nerves before the meeting with the company’s vice president. “That was one good thing about this product: If I walked into their headquarters spinning it, it totally calmed me down,” she recalled. “It’s not an easy thing for most people to walk in and close big deals.”
Hasbro didn’t pick up the spinners, sending her a rejection letter after testing it on consumers. But now, Hasbro sells the fidget spinners — almost 20 years after it denied the original product.
Chloe, Hettinger's granddaughter, plays with the original fidget spinner. Sara Hettinger–
So why the sudden boom in popularity? Hettinger isn’t sure, but she speculates as a result of the recession in 2008, people may be looking for ways to calm their nerves and have fun. “That was always the concept — to help people,” she said. “I experienced it for myself.”
“There’s a real need for this, ” she added.
And given the device’s sudden popularity, Hettinger is working on a way to sell her original spinners, which have not been on the market throughout the current craze. She’s going to launch a a Kickstarter — called the Classic Spinner —soon and sell her version online.
While she’s excited about the spinner’s newfound popularity, she’s still got an inventor’s mind and continues to observe her surroundings and think up products that can make life easier for people.
Her latest project is a diet and fitness application for iPhones that she’s working on with the help of the Inventors Council of Central Florida, a Florida-based group that she is a member of that works on new ideas together.
“The culture we live in now — the times now — everyone has a need for fun. People are realizing it — and it’s true,” she said.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the year Hettinger’s patent expired. It expired in 2005, not 2017. Additionally, this story misstated what inspired her to create the fidget spinner. Hettinger was inspired after hearing about boys throwing rocks at people and police — she did not see it herself. ||||| A prototype is a preliminary model of something. Projects that offer physical products need to show backers documentation of a working prototype. This gallery features photos, videos, and other visual documentation that will give backers a sense of what’s been accomplished so far and what’s left to do. Though the development process can vary for each project, these are the stages we typically see:
About
Wikipedia credits Catherine Hettinger as the original inventor. This makes it a Classic. This has been a collaborative project with a three dimensional artist and an engineer. The first spinner is ready for primetime. The photo of the prototype becomes the original Classic Fidget Spinner, Fellow techies understand the need for movement. Not all of us can work in Silicon Valley and step out for a football throw. De- stress with a great spinner that is fun and enjoyable.
This project allows for everyone to be able to enjoy this classic and truly original item that has been used and proven small scale. Be a part of the next big thing.
If you are looking to get in as a supporter then meet the creators. Otherwise enjoy a wonderful talking point and de-stressor. Suddenly everyone understands the need today and let's help ourselves and help them fill that need.
Kids are required to sit 7 solid hours in chairs and this is sparking a revolution to at least keep them from getting in trouble. No animal sits still for long and we can't either.
Our times are seeing a surge in the need for fun. Be a part of that.
|
– It's hard to make money if you don't have any. That's the lesson from Catherine Hettinger, who is credited with inventing the original fidget spinner about three decades ago. In 2004, she says she could not afford the $400 patent renewal fee and thereby had to surrender it. "I just didn't have the money," she tells the Guardian. "It's that simple." Now, fidget spinners are all the rage—they brought in revenue of $2.6 million in April, reports the Wall Street Journal—but Hettinger hasn't made a dime. She says she's not bitter, however, and is hoping to cash in on a "classic" version of her design via Kickstarter. “Several people have asked me: ‘Aren’t you really mad?’" she says. "But for me I’m just pleased that something I designed is something that people understand and really works for them." Hettinger, now 62, says she concocted the device in the early 1990s to occupy her toddler daughter. She tells Time she was also inspired while on a trip to Israel when she saw young boys throwing rocks and wanted to give them an alternative. In any event, she got a patent in the 1990s and had a small measure of success at toy fairs. But toy-makers passed, including Hasbro, which now makes them today. "Maybe if it was some kind of exploitative product—like a new style of cigarettes—and my only motivation was to make money, I’d have a different attitude,” says Hettinger of the gizmo's popularity. “But I am just thrilled.”
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Americans work more than anyone in the industrialized world.
More than the English, more than the French, way more than the Germans or Norwegians. Even, recently, more than the Japanese.
And Americans take less vacation, work longer days, and retire later, too.
That much most people agree on. What's harder to pin down is exactly how much Americans are working. It may be more than our industrialized competitors, but is it more than we have ever worked before?
The short answer, according to the government, is that it is only slightly more and not so much that most people should really notice.
Numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show a very gradually rising trend through the 1990s that has only just recently tapered off, hovering somewhere just north of 40 hours weekly.
A Month More a Year?
The long answer is, of course, more complicated. It depends who you ask, and about whom you're asking.
Author Juliet Schor, who wrote the best-selling book The Overworked American in 1992, concluded that in 1990 Americans worked an average of nearly one month more per year than in 1970.
There are also volumes of surveys that ask people if they're working more than they used to. Generally, people say yes, of course they are. And they also estimate almost 10 more hours a week than the government does.
A Bunch of Whiners?
Critics pooh-pooh such studies, saying self-estimators are exaggerators, although most of those studies echo the same general trend as governmental figures — a bit of a rise through the '90s with a slight dip recently.
Dissenters to overworked-American theories say it's better to base studies on employers' reports of worker hours, which is what the government does, but that leaves out overtime hours worked by salaried employees.
Critics also point to what they say is a growing number of part-time jobs. How can people be working more if they are not working full-time?
Here's where you have to ask which workers we're really talking about.
Measuring Past the Punch Clock
That's what Schor's book tries to do, as well as two recent releases: The White-Collar Sweatshop by Jill Andresky Fraser, and The Working Life by Joanne B. Ciulla.
All those books have been embraced by a large part of the public that apparently feels harassed by the pressures of the workplace.
The authors all find evidence that many Americans are overstressed and overworked in trends that are not necessarily measured with a punch clock; trends such as road rage, workplace shootings, the rising number of children in day care and increasing demands for after-school activities to occupy children whose parents are too busy or still at work.
They aren't the only ones finding long hours in at least certain parts of the workforce. According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report released last year, more than 25 million Americans — 20.5 percent of the total workforce — reported they worked at least 49 hours a week in 1999. Eleven million of those said they worked more than 59 hours a week.
Sweat Under the White Collar
Who are these people? Fraser, after four years of interviews, concludes they are white-collar workers, who do not punch a clock and whose hours therefore are the most difficult to track.
The other evidence often pointed to that people are not really working as much as they say is the increasing number of part-time jobs. How can people be working more if more people are not working full-time?
But the anecdotal evidence presented by Fraser, Schor and Ciulla — and met by millions of people everyday — is that many Americans feel they are working more than ever.
An ABCNEWS.com poll released Monday found only 26 percent of Americans feel they work too hard. Although far more feel the opposite, that's still a lot of people and it's twice as many as the 13 percent who told a Harris Poll in 1960 that they felt overworked. And the percentage rises to about a third of people with kids, or people between 35 and 54 years old.
What Happened to 'The Little Woman'?
Even for people who are not actually working longer hours than they used to, there's an explanation for why some of them might feel over-burdened anyway, particularly men.
Experts who accept some of the arguments of both sides of the working-longer debate often focus less on individuals' hours worked, instead looking at household hours on the job.
In Overworked and Underemployed, a study in The American Prospect, Barry Bluestone and Stephen Rose argue that to really understand the situation Americans face, you need to look beyond individuals and numbers.
The overall figures for how many hours a week the average American works have been held down by the increasing number of part-time service and retail jobs in the economy. But since many of the part-time jobs have been filled by the increasing number of women in the workforce, and many of these women had previously been housewives, there are fewer hours when anyone is taking care of household chores.
Instead of coming home to find the refrigerator and cupboards stocked, dinner ready, the table set, the clothes washed, the house clean and the children entertained, men are coming home and finding they have to chip in, because their wives aren't "the little woman," anymore. They are now sharing duties as breadwinner, which means men have to share household chores. The situation is exaggerated when both spouses work full-time — particularly if they don't earn enough to hire help.
If people aren't spending quite as many more hours at work as they think they are, the fact that they aren't allowed as much leisure time once they're off work might account for the apparent illusion.
Authors like Fraser, Schor and Ciullo, though, argue that there is no illusion, and the case made by the harried Americans who fill their books — and fill commuter trains and highways — is hard to discount. ||||| Photo courtesy Maciej Serafinowicz/Unsplash
Jason Freedman was looking to hire a new employee at his startup, and he knew just the applicant he wanted for the job. The only problem was that the candidate’s current gig had left him frustrated and exhausted to the point of burnout, which was why he was on the market.
“Every other company he was talking to was asking, ‘How soon can you start?’ ” says Freedman, co-founder and CEO of 42Floors, a San Francisco-based commercial real estate search engine. Freedman wanted the guy, but he didn’t want him coming in haggard and beleaguered. So he made him a job offer with one stipulation: The candidate had to take a two-week paid vacation—before his first day. Delighted and relieved, the candidate accepted.
Will Oremus Will Oremus is Slate’s senior technology writer. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter.
“We called it a pre-cation,” Freedman says. “It was only a couple of weeks, but he just came in so refreshed and energized, it was amazing.”
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Freedman decided to begin offering pre-cations to all his new hires. “The day they get their offer letter, it’s kind of like Christmas morning, in that they have a new job and they’ve already thought through the vacation they’re about to go on. We have a guy who’s about to start next week, and he’s in Thailand right now. It’s like, ‘Yeah, have a great time! And when you get back here, work your ass off.’ ”
Yet many of us, especially in competitive fields, are hesitant to take even the relatively small amount of vacation to which our jobs entitle us. Our work ethic remains a point of pride even as it saps our energy and enthusiasm for the job.
Some well-off employers, including many Silicon Valley startups, have responded by offering their workers unlimited vacation. Atlassian, a San Francisco- and Sydney-based enterprise software company, does not track vacation days for its 300-plus U.S. employees. Yet it says it has seen no significant uptick in the total amount of time its workers take off.
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So, like 42Floors, it gives them a little push, handing every new hire a travel voucher and encouraging them to take a trip before their first day. Atlassian dreamed up the idea in 2010 as part of a revamped recruitment campaign designed to spend less on recruiters and more on things that would directly benefit new hires.
“We want people to bring their best every day, and we want them here for the long haul,” says Jeff Diana, Atlassian’s chief people officer. “Changing jobs is an important shift, and we want to give people time to recharge, spend some time with family. Because once you start a new job, you kind of jump all in.”
Pre-cation policies may come at a price that not every company can afford.
The pre-cation policy flows from Atlassian’s view that memorable perks and a livable workspace make for happy employees without busting the company’s budget. Company bonding events like barbecues at San Francisco Giants games are frequent and well-attended. After five years of service, employees are asked to take another break and given $3,000 toward the vacation of their dreams. And instead of end-of-year cash bonuses, top performers get personalized packages delivered to their houses. The packages include fancy chocolates, confetti poppers, bottles of Champagne, and a hand-written letter from a superior about what makes the employee so valuable. Oh, and they come with grants of equity in the company.
The thoughtful touches make such an impression that they sometimes overshadow the monetary rewards in employees’ minds, Diana says. “People have the letters framed on their mantle. I have to ask them two or three times, ‘Great, so what did you think about the equity?’ ”
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Atlassian’s “high-touch” approach to human resources has made it a mainstay of “best places to work” lists in both the U.S. and Australia. The company tells me that “regrettable attrition” rates for its employees are in the single digits, and 90 percent of respondents in an employee survey said they hoped to remain with Atlassian for a long time.
It would probably be premature to call the “pre-cation” a trend. While there are probably a few others out there, Atlassian and 42Floors are the only companies I could find that offer it, and both say that they came up with the idea independently; neither had heard of any others offering the same perk.
David Lewin, professor emeritus at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, says the concept is a new one to him as well. But it reminds him of a somewhat similar practice that’s common among companies that hire MBA graduates: “Especially in economic growth periods as opposed to recessions, they will negotiate over their start date. It happened a lot in 2006 and ’07, it happened in the late ’90s, and it’s starting to happen again. It probably reflects the same underlying notion: ‘We’re working our butts off, and gee, wouldn’t it be good to have a couple months off to go do whatever one does with free time, and then start fresh and ready to roll?’ ”
Lewin is skeptical of the unlimited-vacation policies that have become de rigueur in the startup world. When you can take all the vacation you want, that means you can also take as little as you want, and employees might feel insecure or uncertain about how long they can afford to be away. As for the pre-cation policies, Lewin can see the appeal but notes that they may come at a price that not every company can afford.
If you ask Freedman of 42Floors how much his pre-cation program costs his 40-person company, however, you’ll get a surprising answer: zero. “The way you would calculate it would be the total dollars spent on paid time off,” he says. “But when I look at the overall amount of vacation time in the company, if anything I wish it was a little higher.”
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– The last thing a company wants in a new hire is someone worn out from his former position, and two tech firms are creatively combating that. They're pushing their newly minted employees to take a "precation"—a vacation before their job actually begins. Indeed, San Francisco-based real estate search engine 42Floors went so far as to require it ("it" being two paid weeks off) for a new worker, Will Oremus reports at Slate. "We called it a precation,” the CEO says. “It was only a couple of weeks, but he just came in so refreshed and energized." Now, all new employees at the company get the opportunity. "It’s like, ‘Yeah, have a great time! And when you get back here, work your ass off,'" the boss says. Software company Atlassian prods new workers to take precations, too. And those who stick with the company for five years are handed $3,000 to put toward their dream trip. While Oremus won't go so far as calling the precation a "trend"—42Floors and Atlassian were the only ones doing it that he found—he calls it the "perfect job perk for our overworked times." He notes, via ABC News, that Americans have the longest working days and take the least vacation of any nation in the developed world. "We deserve a break," he writes. The reality is that "many of us, especially in competitive fields, are hesitant to take even the relatively small amount of vacation to which our jobs entitle us." Read his full piece here.
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Discovery turns out to be shipwreck
Published: January 23, 2015 7:56AM
JEFF TER HAR — For The Daily Astorian Part of a ship’s keel was discovered last November by Seaside residents Ben Hidy and Travis Trapani.
JEFF TER HAR — For The Daily Astorian The best environment to preserve a ship recently discovered buried in sand on the Seaside beach is under the sand, says the state’s archaeologist.
JEFF TER HAR — For The Daily Astorian The wood found two months ago by two Seaside residents comes from a ship, according to the state archaeologist. More tests may lead to the ship’s identity.
The state archeologist says the wood found last November under the sand in Seaside was, indeed, a ship.
SEASIDE — What three friends discovered while metal-detecting in the dunes last November is indeed a shipwreck.
Now the question is: which one?
“We have over 2,000 wrecks at the mouth of the Columbia (River),” said Oregon’s State Archaeologist, Dennis Griffin. “So it’s interesting if we can figure out what wreck this is because we don’t have it on record.”
In hopes of recovering the ship’s identity, Griffin traveled to the site near Avenue L Jan. 13 and took two wood samples from the boat’s 21-foot keel, then sent them to Eugene for testing. The results, expected in a few weeks, will determine the type of lumber used in construction and, in turn, narrow the ship’s potential points of origin.
Hypothetically “Let’s say it’s Douglas fir,” Griffin said. “If that’s what it is, that’s usually used in more West Coast shipping.”
Should that be the case, lost ships from abroad — and even the East Coast — would be crossed off the list of candidates.
The tests being performed will not account for age, though Christopher Dewey, a volunteer at the Columbia River Maritime Museum, examined the site and estimated that the ship was built in the 20th century.
“It’s really a process of elimination,” Griffin said. “You look at reported wrecks in the area and try to determine would this size of an artifact be from one ship rather than another? Trying to nail that down to one particular wreck, that can be very difficult.”
That is, in part, because where a ship was known to sink and where it may wash up can be vastly different.
“We’ve known boats to hit a sandbar off the Columbia but found the wrecks had floated down 20-some miles or so to Arch Cape,” Griffin said. Historically, lost ships are more likely not to be found, he said.
“Over 3,000 wrecks are known to be off the coast of Oregon,” he said. “We have the locations of a little over 300 in our database.”
Regardless of whether or not the wreck beneath the dunes in Seaside is identified, it’s likely to remain where it is — buried in the sand.
“Once a piece of a ship that’s been in a water-logged state leaves the beach, or leaves that environment, it will dry and fall apart,” Griffin said. “It would need to be placed in a tank — in a plastic solution — that protects it. I don’t know of any place on the West Coast that has a tank large enough to hold that piece. This piece of wood is huge. It would cost tens-upon-tens-of-thousands of dollars to protect that wood.”
“The best environment it could be in is right where it is now,” he said. “It’s being preserved right there.”
The worth of the find, he added, is purely informational.
“We place the value, archaeologywise, on the historical value,” he said. “What those sites have is a potential to tell us more about our past.”
“Shipwrecks tie us more into the land that we now live in,” he added. “Whether it’s the logging industry, whether it’s commercial trade or fishing trade, whatever it was, it’s all important.”
“The wreck itself might be important because, perhaps, it was a fishing trawler that sunk in a storm in the 1930s,” Griffin said. “If so, it tells us more about the expanse of people going out there to harvest fish to feed the growing cities.”
“So it’s about historical value,” he said. “We don’t place monetary value on these sites.” ||||| SEASIDE, Ore. (AP) — Three friends discovered a shipwreck on the northern Oregon coast last fall. The ship that wrecked is a mystery the state archaeologist wants to solve.
The Daily Astorian reports (http://is.gd/WjUQf1 ) that Oregon's state archaeologist, Dennis Griffin, took two wood samples from the boat's 21-foot keel last month and sent them to Eugene for testing.
The results expected later this month will determine the type of lumber used in construction, narrowing the ship's potential points of origin.
The tests won't account for age, but a Columbia River Maritime Museum volunteer examined the site and believes the ship was built in the 20th century.
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Information from: The Daily Astorian, http://www.dailyastorian.com
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– Three friends metal-detecting last fall in the dunes of Seaside, Ore., hit upon a not-very-metallic find: a large wooden vessel buried in the sand. Now Oregon state archaeologist Dennis Griffin says it is indeed a shipwreck, and that two wood samples taken from the boat's 21-foot keel are currently being tested, with results expected later this month, reports the AP. The tests should help pinpoint what type of lumber was used in construction, which in turn could point to the boat's origins. And while the tests won't determine age, a volunteer at the Columbia River Maritime Museum who's visited the site says it's probably a 20th-century vessel, reports the Daily Astorian. To Griffin, it's an exciting find because of what it might tell us about the past. "It's about historical value," he says. "We don't place monetary value on these sites." He says that more than 3,000 wrecks are known to be off Oregon's rugged coastline, but the state database has the locations of barely more than 300. Whether this particular ship is from the logging, fishing, or commercial industries, learning more about it helps "tie us more into the land that we now live in." But the remains won't be moved; out of the water, sand is the best medium for preserving the wood, which would otherwise cost a lot of money to preserve in a plastic solution in a large tank, Griffin adds. (These two shipwrecks in Lake Ontario are mystifying.)
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Wolfe
Transgender graduating senior Issak Wolfe's name won't be announced at Red Lion Area High School graduation on Friday as he requested. The district has informed the American Civil Liberties Union that Wolfe's legal name, Sierra Stambaugh, will be read instead, according to ACLU attorney Molly Tack-Hooper.
Wolfe has been going by his male name in recent years, and he and the ACLU had asked the name be honored by the district.
Tack-Hooper said the district was "unmoved by our request" and wants to stick to legal names.
Tack-Hooper said Wolfe is in the process of legally changing his name, but since he only turned 18 in April and it's a lengthy process, he hasn't had time to complete it.
"The ACLU thinks it's unfortunate the school has taken the path of rigid adherence," Tack-Hooper said.
Wolfe request: Wolfe previously said he understands the diploma itself is a legal document and needs his legal name, but had hoped Red Lion would be open to his name-reading request, since there's no legal obligation and he no longer identifies himself as a female.
The graduation ceremony is at 7 p.m. Friday, June 7, at the high school.
Last month, Wolfe's gender identity became an issue when, he said, Red Lion High School Principal Mark Shue changed Wolfe's entry from Issak Wolfe on the prom king ballot to Sierra Stambaugh, and put him on the prom queen ballot.
Red Lion Superintendent Scott Deisley could not be immediately reached for comment.
- Reach Andrew Shaw at [email protected]. ||||| A central Pennsylvania school district has refused to allow a transgender student's male name to be announced during his graduation ceremony later this week.
Eighteen-year-old Isaak Wolfe had asked the Red Lion Area School District in York County to allow his male name to be announced during Friday night's ceremony.
The school board said earlier that Wolfe would be allowed to wear a boy's black graduation gown. But board solicitor Ben Pratt said a diploma is a legal document and must bear the recipient's legal name. Wolfe's given female name, Sierra Stambaugh, is to be read as he walks across the stage.
American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Molly Tack-Hooper said Wolfe is in the process of changing his name but hasn't had time to complete the process.
Last May, Wolfe and more than 50 supporters wearing stickers saying "His name is Issak" attended a Red Lion Area School District board meeting. They brought with them a petition of 2,000 signatures urging the board to allow Wolfe to use his male name
The student uses the name Issak Wolfe, but is enrolled at Red Lion High School in York County as Sierra Stambaugh.
Board solicitor Benjamin Pratt said it has always been procedure to use students' legal names.
Transgender Student Fights School
A transgender high school senior petitions to use his new name at graduation. WGAL-TV's Pete Muntean reports. (Published Friday, Sept. 4, 2015)
Wolfe said ahead of the meeting that he was fighting the decision -- and calling for a policy to protect future students from discrimination on the basis of gender identity, to help others like him.
"It's incredibly hurtful, and if I can prevent somebody else from being hurt in that way, that's what I want to do," he told The Associated Press.
Wolfe said he's also speaking out because high school principal Mark Shue listed him by his birth name on the ballot for prom queen last April, denying him a chance to run for prom king as he had hoped.
Wolfe said Issak is the name he would have been given had he been born a male, and Wolfe is an old family name.
"I've never gotten too much trouble from other students about who I am," Wolfe said in remarks prepared for delivery to the school board. "But when Principal Shue listed me under my old name on the prom queen ballot, it was the most humiliating and demeaning thing that has ever happened to me at school."
The American Civil Liberties Union had demanded an apology for Shue's decision, but the district balked, saying it had already apologized for a "lack of communication" on where Wolfe would be placed on the prom court ballot.
Red Lion's superintendent, Scott Deisley, did not return a phone message from The Associated Press.
Wolfe said that growing up, he was unhappy in his own skin and had a feeling that something was wrong. By 10th grade, he said, he had pinpointed the cause of his distress: He wanted to live as a man. He asked his mother to buy men's clothing and "she was like, 'OK, whatever you want.'"
Wolfe is working on a legal name change. He said in his statement to the school board that the district's insistence on reading his female name at graduation "serves no other purpose than to hurt me more."
About half of his teachers call him Issak, and the rest call him Sierra, he said.
"My teachers have not changed how they treat me. They're all still great," he said. "The name thing is stressful, but they haven't changed their behavior toward me."
Copyright Associated Press ||||| A transgender student at Red Lion High School who uses the name Issak Wolfe will instead hear his legal name, Sierra Stambaugh, read as he walks across the stage to receive his diploma Friday.
The Red Lion School Board responded to the American Civil Liberties Union last week and informed Wolfe’s attorneys that it will not overturn Principal Mark Shue's decision, said Ben Pratt, School Board solicitor.
"We are maintaining the position that we will read the legal name at graduation," Pratt said.
In mid-May, Wolfe and supporters attended a board meeting and pleaded that the School Board overturn Shue’s decision. The district has said that Wolfe will be allowed to wear a black cap and gown, the color typically worn by boys, instead of a yellow one, worn by girls.
But a diploma is a legal document that must bear a legal name, and it is that name that will be read during the ceremony, according to the district.
Per district policy, nicknames and the like are not used during commencement ceremonies or on diplomas.
Wolfe has said he is working on changing his legal name.
Red Lion Superintendent Scott Deisley did not immediately return a call from PennLive on Tuesday afternoon.
Molly Tack-Hooper, one of Wolfe's attorneys, said the ACLU is disappointed in the decision and called the district "authoritarian."
"At this point, we're not holding out hope of changing the district's mind," she said.
Rather than fighting back on this case, Tack-Hooper said she hopes Wolfe's story will educate the public on transgender issues and will show other school districts the effect these sorts of controversies can have.
Wolfe previously took issue with the district's policies in April, when his attempts to win the title of prom king were shot down and he was placed on the prom queen ballot. His girlfriend, Taylor Thomas, was nearly barred from attending prom after she made comments online criticizing Shue for placing Wolfe on the prom queen ballot.
Following ACLU intervention, the couple were allowed to attend prom together.
This story was updated to include comment from Molly Tack-Hooper, an attorney with the ACLU.
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– When Issak Wolfe walks in his Pennsylvania high school's graduation ceremony Friday, he won't hear his name read aloud as he accepts his diploma. Instead, he'll hear his legal—female—name, Sierra Stambaugh, the York Dispatch reports. Wolfe is transgender, and Red Lion Area High School has refused his request to read the male name he now uses, despite Wolfe's backing from the ACLU. The district's position: A diploma is a legal document and needs to carry a legal name; Wolfe is legally changing his name, but hasn't completed the process yet since he just turned 18 in April. But Wolfe hoped that, even if his diploma carried his birth name, his chosen name could be read aloud. The principal rejected his request, so the ACLU took the issue to the school board, which last week decided to uphold the principal's decision, the Patriot-News reports. (Wolfe was accompanied by more than 50 supporters and a petition bearing 2,000 signatures when he attended the board meeting, NBC Philadelphia reports.) The district will, however, allow Wolfe to wear a black cap and gown with the rest of the male students, rather than the yellow one worn by the female students. Wolfe was previously in the news in April, when his principal listed him on the prom queen ballot, rather than the prom king ballot as he had requested.
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FILE - In a Friday, June 12, 2015 file photo, artist Yoko Ono appears during a ceremony announcing the future installation of Ono's first permanent public art installation in the U.S., in Chicago. Ono... (Associated Press)
FILE - In a Friday, June 12, 2015 file photo, artist Yoko Ono appears during a ceremony announcing the future installation of Ono's first permanent public art installation in the U.S., in Chicago. Ono was hospitalized Friday, Feb. 26, 2016 for flu-like symptoms, but her representative said the singer... (Associated Press)
FILE - In a Friday, June 12, 2015 file photo, artist Yoko Ono appears during a ceremony announcing the future installation of Ono's first permanent public art installation in the U.S., in Chicago. Ono was hospitalized Friday, Feb. 26, 2016 for flu-like symptoms, but her representative said the singer... (Associated Press) FILE - In a Friday, June 12, 2015 file photo, artist Yoko Ono appears during a ceremony announcing the future installation of Ono's first permanent public art installation in the U.S., in Chicago. Ono... (Associated Press)
NEW YORK (AP) — Yoko Ono was hospitalized in New York City for flu-like symptoms, but is on the mend and the 83-year-old artist-singer should be released this weekend, her representative said.
Ono went to the hospital on the advice of her doctor, and media reports that she had had a stroke were not true, Elliott Mintz told The Associated Press on Friday.
Ono is the widow of John Lennon of the Beatles. The couple's son, Sean Ono Lennon, also tamped down reports of a stroke. He said on Twitter that his mother was dehydrated and tired.
"Only stroke @yokoono had was a Stroke of Genius! ... She's really fine," he tweeted. "Thanks for all the well wishes!"
Mintz said Ono likely will be released from the hospital Saturday. "It was nothing," he added.
A Fire Department spokesman said an ambulance was called to Ono's apartment building at 72nd Street and Central Park West in Manhattan around 9 p.m. Friday.
Ono has lived in the luxury apartment building on Manhattan's Upper West Side since 1973. John Lennon was shot and killed in front of the building on Dec. 8, 1980.
Ono remained hospitalized Friday night at Mount Sinai West Hospital in Manhattan, the same hospital where Lennon was pronounced dead. At the time, it was called St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital. ||||| Only stroke @ yokoono had was a Stroke of Genius! :-) She's really fine. Thanks for all the well wishes! Big Love, Sean
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– Yoko Ono was hospitalized in New York City for flu-like symptoms, but is on the mend and should be released this weekend, her representative says. Ono, 83, went to the hospital on the advice of her doctor, and media reports that she suffered a stroke are not true, Elliott Mintz tells the AP. Sean Ono Lennon, the son of Ono and John Lennon, also tamped down reports of a stroke. He said on Twitter that his mother was dehydrated and tired. "Only stroke ... was a Stroke of Genius! ... She's really fine," he tweeted. "Thanks for all the well wishes!" A Fire Department spokesman said an ambulance was called to Ono's apartment building at 72nd Street and Central Park West in Manhattan around 9pm Friday. (Read the best lines from Oko in a memorable US Weekly feature.)
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The Washington Post has learned that Obama aides were given information suggesting a prostitute was an overnight guest in the hotel room of a presidential advance-team member—yet that information was never thoroughly investigated or publicly acknowledged. Washington Post national reporter Carol D. Leonnig explains. (Theresa Poulson, Jeff Simon and Julie Percha/The Washington Post)
The Washington Post has learned that Obama aides were given information suggesting a prostitute was an overnight guest in the hotel room of a presidential advance-team member—yet that information was never thoroughly investigated or publicly acknowledged. Washington Post national reporter Carol D. Leonnig explains. (Theresa Poulson, Jeff Simon and Julie Percha/The Washington Post)
As nearly two dozen Secret Service agents and members of the military were punished or fired following a 2012 prostitution scandal in Colombia, Obama administration officials repeatedly denied that anyone from the White House was involved.
But new details drawn from government documents and interviews show that senior White House aides were given information at the time suggesting that a prostitute was an overnight guest in the hotel room of a presidential advance-team member — yet that information was never thoroughly investigated or publicly acknowledged.
The information that the Secret Service shared with the White House included hotel records and firsthand accounts — the same types of evidence the agency and military relied on to determine who in their ranks was involved.
The Secret Service shared its findings twice in the weeks after the scandal with top White House officials, including then-White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler. Each time, she and other presidential aides conducted an interview with the advance-team member and concluded that he had done nothing wrong.
Meanwhile, the new details also show that a separate set of investigators in the inspector general’s office of the Department of Homeland Security — tasked by a Senate committee with digging more deeply into misconduct on the trip — found additional evidence from records and eyewitnesses who had accompanied the team member in Colombia.
On April 23, 2012, then White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, citing an internal review, said "there's no indication that any member of the White House advance team engaged in any improper conduct or behavior" in Cartagena, Colombia. (The Washington Post via Whitehouse.gov)
The lead investigator later told Senate staffers that he felt pressure from his superiors in the office of Charles K. Edwards, who was then the acting inspector general, to withhold evidence — and that, in the heat of an election year, decisions were being made with political considerations in mind.
“We were directed at the time . . . to delay the report of the investigation until after the 2012 election,” David Nieland, the lead investigator on the Colombia case for the DHS inspector general’s office, told Senate staffers, according to three people with knowledge of his statement.
Nieland added that his superiors told him “to withhold and alter certain information in the report of investigation because it was potentially embarrassing to the administration.”
Edwards told Senate staffers that any changes to the report were part of the normal editing process and that he sought to keep the focus of his investigation on DHS employees, according to statements he made to Senate staffers that are part of the public record.
White House spokesman Eric Schultz said Wednesday that President Obama and his advisers did not interfere with the inspector general’s investigation. “As was reported more than two years ago, the White House conducted an internal review that did not identify any inappropriate behavior on the part of the White House advance team,” Schultz said. He cited a Senate report on the inspector general’s office from this April that said an inquiry was unable to verify Nieland’s contention that he was ordered to change the IG report over political concerns.
Whether the White House volunteer, Jonathan Dach, was involved in wrongdoing in Cartagena, Colombia, remains unclear. Dach, then a 25-year-old Yale University law student, declined to be interviewed, but through his attorney he denied hiring a prostitute or bringing anyone to his hotel room. Dach has long made the same denials to White House officials.
Dach this year started working full time in the Obama administration on a federal contract as a policy adviser in the Office on Global Women’s Issues at the State Department.
Dach’s father, Leslie Dach, is a prominent Democratic donor who gave $23,900 to the party in 2008 to help elect Obama. In his previous job as a top lobbyist for Wal-Mart, he partnered with the White House on high-profile projects, including Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign.
He, too, joined the Obama administration this year. In July, he was named a senior counselor with the Department of Health and Human Services, where part of his responsibilities include handling the next phase of the Affordable Care Act.
Richard A. Sauber, who represents both Dachs, said that Jonathan Dach denies any involvement in the prostitution scandal and that no one in his family intervened with White House officials or federal investigators.
“The underlying allegations about any inappropriate conduct by Jonathan Dach in Cartagena are utterly and completely false,” Sauber said. “In addition, neither he nor anyone acting on his behalf ever contacted the DHS IG’s office about its report.”
Nevertheless, the question of whether the prostitution scandal reached into the White House had consequences beyond the West Wing.
Within the inspector general’s office, investigators and their bosses fought heatedly with each other over whether to pursue White House team members’ possible involvement. Office staffers who raised questions about a White House role said they were put on administrative leave as a punishment for doing so. Later, Edwards, the acting inspector general, resigned amid allegations of misconduct stemming in part from the dispute.
Also, the way the White House handled the scandal remains a sore point among rank-and-file members of the Secret Service more than two years later.
Former and current Secret Service agents said they are angry at the White House’s public insistence that none of its team members were involved and its private decision to not fully investigate one of its own — while their colleagues had their careers ruined or hampered.
Ten members of the Secret Service — ranging from younger, lower-level officers assigned to rope-line security to seasoned members of a counterassault team — lost their jobs because of their actions in Cartagena. The agents were told that they jeopardized national security by drinking excessively and having contact with foreign nationals.
They were treated “radically differently by different parts of the same executive branch,” said Larry Berger, a lawyer who represented many of the agents, who were union members of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association.
Given the renewed focus on the Secret Service after recent reports of a series of security lapses, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) wrote to White House chief of staff Denis McDonough last week voicing concerns that “steps were taken by the Administration to cover-up or deflect” White House involvement in the scandal. Chaffetz wrote that it remains unclear how the White House concluded that one of its team members was not involved, and he has requested records of Ruemmler’s review.
Dach’s role in Cartagena was far different from that of Secret Service agents who were responsible for the president’s safety. He was a volunteer who helped coordinate drivers for the White House travel office. He was paid a per diem, not a salary, and was reimbursed for expenses.
Dach and his fellow volunteers underwent background checks, according to a former administration official. That person said that on trips, team members are familiar with the president’s general itinerary in advance of his arrival but not the most sensitive information about his movements.
Travel volunteers, who are often recommended for the position by White House staffers, are repeatedly reminded that they are “mini-ambassadors” for the U.S. government and that their conduct reflects on the president and first lady, the former official said.
Administration officials interviewed by The Post earlier this year said there was no reason to investigate Dach beyond interviews with him and his fellow White House team members and a review of their expense accounts, because he was not a government employee and because prostitution is legal in parts of Colombia, including Cartagena.
One senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information, said Ruemmler believed it would be a “real scandal” if she had sent “a team of people to Colombia to investigate a volunteer over something that’s not a criminal act. . . . That would be insane.”
Ruemmler, now a private-practice lawyer who is under White House consideration to replace the departing attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr., did not respond to requests for comment.
‘No credible information’
The prostitution scandal erupted on April 14, 2012, the day Obama arrived in the coastal city of Cartagena. News that Secret Service agents had brought prostitutes back to their hotel rooms instantly overshadowed a summit that White House officials had hoped would focus on building economic ties with Latin America.
Obama initially described the agents involved as “a couple of knuckleheads” and told reporters at the time that his attitude about the behavior of the Secret Service is “no different than what I expect out of my delegation that’s sitting here.”
“We’re representing the people of the United States,” he said, “and when we travel to another country I expect us to observe the highest standards, because we’re not just representing ourselves.”
The Secret Service first provided evidence pointing to Dach’s potential involvement in the scandal less than a week later, on April 20.
The information, which then-Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan gave to Ruemmler, was not detailed. It said Secret Service investigators had evidence indicating Dach registered a prostitute into his room at the Hilton Cartagena Hotel shortly after midnight on April 4. He also conveyed that Secret Service agents on the ground had information suggesting the same.
The senior administration official said the White House’s position at the time was that the information amounted to little more than “rumor.”
Also on April 20, a Friday, reporters asked press secretary Jay Carney whether White House staffers had been involved. He said his information was that the incident did not “involve anything but the agents and the military personnel.”
White House lawyers in Ruemmler’s office spent that weekend interviewing all of the travel-office advance-team members who had been in Cartagena, including Dach.
Dach denied any wrongdoing, according to the administration official. Fellow White House team members said he had gone to dinner with them on April 3 — the night they arrived in town to prepare for Obama’s visit — and accompanied them back to the Hilton in a staff van. None reported witnessing any misbehavior, the senior administration official said.
The lawyers determined that there was “no credible information” to implicate Dach or anyone else from the White House at that time, the official said.
A Dach family spokeswoman, Amy Weiss, said Wednesday night that Dach returned to the Hilton at approximately 10:48 pm on April 3 after dinner that evening with other team members. He texted a friend from his room that he was “exhausted,” she said; by that time, he had been awake and traveling for 23 hours.
The weekend inquiry conducted by White House officials was less extensive than those undertaken by Secret Service and Pentagon officials, according to several government officials familiar with the probes. Those agencies had devoted considerable resources to their investigations, conducting extensive interviews and sending teams to Colombia for more than two weeks to track down and interview prostitutes and hotel staff members.
The Secret Service also administered multiple polygraph tests to each of the agents, asking whether they had brought prostitutes to their rooms and paid for services, according to several agents and federal records.
The following Monday, in response to questions from reporters, Carney said that “there have been no specific, credible allegations of misconduct by anyone on the White House advance team or the White House staff.”
Carney added that, “out of due diligence, the White House counsel’s office has conducted a review of the White House advance team and . . . came to the conclusion that there’s no indication that any member of the White House advance team engaged in any improper conduct or behavior.”
About three weeks later, on May 11, the Secret Service again contacted the White House, this time with more detailed evidence pointing to Dach’s involvement, according to the senior administration official.
Sullivan informed Ruemmler that agency investigators had obtained copies of the Hilton hotel records, which listed Dach’s room number and showed an additional overnight guest had been registered to his room on April 4. The information was now based on investigators’ interviews with the hotel’s director of business development, front-desk manager and security chief, who explained how guests must personally register their overnight visitors and how they determined that U.S. personnel had done so.
Many hotels in Colombia, for security reasons, maintain detailed records of additional overnight visitors. At the Hilton, prostitutes are required to show identification to ensure they are not underage. That identification is photocopied by the hotel and stored with the records of the guest staying in the room.
The Post reviewed copies of the hotel logs for Dach’s stay, which showed that a woman was registered to Dach’s room at 12:02 a.m. April 4 and included an attached photocopy of a woman’s ID card. Through his attorney, Dach declined to discuss these details as well.
Hotel staff members in Cartagena told federal investigators that they had determined Dach was one of three guests at the Hilton who had additional overnight guests registered to their rooms, federal records reviewed by The Post show. The other two were a military staffer stationed at the White House and another Secret Service agent.
The records reviewed by The Post list three names — one of which is redacted and identified only as a White House travel-team member. Two government officials who have seen an unredacted version separately confirmed that Dach is the travel-team member listed.
The room number provided next to the redacted name, 513, matches the one listed for Dach on a bill and hotel registration records that administration officials shared with The Post.
The new information did not change the White House’s position.
Most Secret Service agents implicated in the scandal were staying at a different place, the Hotel Caribe. The White House learned from the Secret Service of a case of mistaken identity at the Caribe, in which one Secret Service agent was erroneously accused of bringing a prostitute to his room.
White House lawyers learned about the mix-up and cited it as a reason to question the evidence provided by the Secret Service.
Dach “gave responses that were not in any way indicative that he did in fact have an overnight guest,” the senior administration official said. “We concluded he was being truthful.”
Senate inquiry
Questions about Dach’s involvement in the scandal did not end there. Concerned that the primary investigation into the incident by the Secret Service was not thorough enough, a subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in late May 2012 asked the DHS inspector general’s office to conduct its own investigation.
IG investigators reviewed information that pointed to Dach. An agent said he saw Dach with a woman he believed was a prostitute, and another had information after reviewing records that showed he had registered a woman into his room.
Nieland’s team also found that hotel officials had waived a fee normally charged to guests staying overnight. Hilton Worldwide officials in Virginia said their records showed Dach “was not charged for additional guest as a benefit of Hilton Honor Member.”
Weiss, the Dach family spokeswoman, said Wednesday night that the Hilton in Cartagena told Dach it has no records in Dach’s file indicating that he sought to waive any overnight guest fee.
Nieland’s team also collected research showing that the name of the woman in the Hilton records registered to Dach’s room matched that of a woman advertising herself on the Internet as a prostitute. The woman had posted photos of herself in undergarments in front of “Summit of the Americas” signs in Cartagena at the time of the trip, according to federal records and people familiar with the probe.
The Post sent two reporters to Cartagena but were unable to locate the woman.
Nieland later told Senate staffers that his superiors demanded that he remove from an official report references to the evidence pointing to the White House team member.
Nieland said the instructions came less than 24 hours after his superiors said Edwards had briefed then-Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano about the potential involvement of the White House team member, according to documents reviewed by The Post.
A spokesman for Napolitano told The Post that she never “ordered that anything be deleted in the inspector general’s report or asked for a delay,” but he declined to describe her conversations at the time with the inspector general.
Edwards was getting other complaints about the actions of his investigators, according to two people familiar with Edwards’s private testimony to the Senate committee. Two senior staffers to then-Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), who was the chairman of the committee, told Edwards he was not the inspector general of the White House and should avoid scrutinizing the White House in his report, according to the two people.
Nieland and two other members of the office fought or questioned alterations to the report. All three were later put on administrative leave for what they believed was their questioning of the changes.
Their superiors, including Edwards, said the discipline was unrelated to their complaints about the alterations.
The Office of Special Counsel, where one of the staff members resisting the changes filed a formal complaint against Edwards, issued a letter saying that there was convincing evidence that the action against him was retaliatory. Nieland was later suspended for an unrelated personnel matter, but he believed the move was retaliation for the questions he had raised the previous year. Senate investigators said they were unable to substantiate whether the third investigator was a victim of retaliation.
The strife within the inspector general’s office grew so severe that it was scrutinized by the Senate committee as part of a broader inquiry into Edwards’s conduct.
The Senate report noted conflicting accounts of Nieland’s role in the Secret Service investigation. Nieland’s superiors said Nieland told them he did not suspect a “cover-up” in their alterations. But Nieland later said to Senate investigators that he told his bosses that they were “sitting on information that could influence an election.”
Edwards, who later stepped down, disputed Nieland’s claims as part of the inquiry, telling Senate investigators the alterations were part of the ordinary editing process.
The Senate report said committee staffers could not determine whether politics or outside pressure were factors in the changes Edwards’s deputies ordered in the report. They noted that Edwards declined to provide the committee with any of his internal correspondence about the Secret Service investigation. The Senate report did conclude that Edwards had altered investigations at the behest of administration officials.
In a summary letter to Congress in September 2012, Edwards had made a passing reference to hotel logs that suggested a White House advance-team member may have had an overnight guest, but he said his investigators did not pursue the matter, because it was outside the agency’s jurisdiction.
The reference caught the attention of some reporters, who raised questions with White House officials, who continued to deny any wrongdoing by any White House team members. Since Edwards’s departure, his successor has made public a few more paragraphs in the report about information that pointed to a White House advance-team member.
Joshua Partlow in Cartagena and Ernesto Londoño, Alice Crites and Tim Farnam in Washington contributed to this report. ||||| WASHINGTON (AP) — Investigating the prostitution scandal at the Secret Service, the Homeland Security Department's inspector general uncovered a hotel record suggesting a member of President Barack Obama's team might have been involved, according to a summary of the case submitted to Congress. A senior administration official told The Associated Press the White House determined the record was false and that the person in question did nothing wrong.
The mere possibility of such an encounter raises the potential for election-year fallout for the White House, which reviewed the matter months ago and cleared all its workers of wrongdoing. In a sign of campaign politics, Republican lawmakers questioned the credibility of the White House review, as Obama's team feared.
"I am troubled that the (inspector general's) findings reveal White House personnel may have been involved," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a statement. "The White House explicitly denied any involvement after its own investigation and now the IG is questioning that account. This raises concerns about the credibility of the White House investigation."
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, sent the White House a letter Thursday asking for more information about its internal review of the incident. Grassley also questioned whether the White House had any role in delaying the inspector general's report, which had been expected to be completed months ago.
The acting inspector general, Charles K. Edwards, said the employee— described by the administration as a volunteer, not a staff member — "may have had contact with foreign nationals" and "may have been affiliated with the White House advance operation," according to a letter to lawmakers obtained by the AP. Edwards cited as evidence a hotel registry obtained by his investigators.
Edwards acknowledged that his investigators did not pursue information about the activities of the White House worker, who was not identified, or the actions of another U.S. military employee, because his report was intended to focus solely on employees at the Homeland Security Department. Edwards said his office "did not conduct any additional investigation into this finding and has made no determination related to these individuals because they are not DHS personnel."
Edwards also said that while the Secret Service employees "engaged in misconduct" Obama's security was never at risk.
The senior administration official told the AP that the hotel record Edwards cited in his letter to Congress was incorrect, and the person affiliated with the White House team did nothing improper. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose details of a review that has not made been public and also spoke to quickly quash a potential controversy.
The Obama team member in question was a volunteer working as part of White House advance team that helped set up Obama's trip to Cartagena, Colombia, for a Latin America summit in April. The worker had his expenses paid but is not on the White House staff.
The official who spoke to the AP refused to name the White House advance team member.
The White House review found that a guest, perhaps a prostitute, had signed in to visit the same room assigned to that volunteer member of Obama's team. This occurred at the Hilton hotel where Obama would later stay during his visit.
But the review found that hotel log was false and that there was no other evidence to corroborate that the individual had received a visitor, the official said.
"As we've said for months, the White House review concluded that no members of the White House advance team, either staff or volunteers, engaged in inappropriate conduct during the president's trip to Colombia," said White House spokesman Eric Schultz on Friday.
One other member of the Secret Service had been inaccurately implicated when a guest who signed into the hotel falsely gave the Secret Service member's room number.
The prostitution scandal engulfed both Secret Service and military personnel.
According to the summary from Edwards, 13 Secret Service employees had "personal encounters with female Colombian nationals" while they were in Cartagena in advance of Obama's arrival for a South American summit.
"These encounters took place at the Hotel Caribe, the Hilton Cartagena and at a private residence," Edwards wrote. All but one of the employees was interviewed.
Six of the women, including a prostitute who has identified herself as Dania Suarez, were paid, according to the case summary. Five women asked for payment but didn't receive any cash and three other women didn't ask for payment.
The scandal erupted when a Secret Service employee who spent the night with Suarez refused to pay and an argument between the two erupted in the hallway of the Hotel Caribe.
A Secret Service spokesman declined to comment Friday on Edwards' letter.
Eight of the Secret Service employees have been forced out of the agency, three were cleared of serious misconduct and at least two employees are fighting to get their jobs back. Eleven military personnel were also implicated. Nine service members are facing administrative discipline. The status of the two others is unclear.
A twelfth member of the military, who was assigned to the White House Communications Agency, a military unit that provides secure communications for the president, was also implicated. His status remains unclear.
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Follow Alicia A. Caldwell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/acaldwellap
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– The Secret Service found itself under the microscope after reported agent sexcapades in Cartagena, Colombia, in 2012. But government documents and interviews unearthed by the Washington Post are now not only identifying a White House advance-team member who also allegedly took part in "after-hours" activities—they also appear to back up claims that senior White House aides were told about this team member, a volunteer at the time, and didn't do a heck of a lot about it. The volunteer, since identified as Jonathan Dach, has categorically denied engaging with a prostitute or bringing someone back to the Cartagena Hilton and is now working full-time for the administration as a women's issues adviser. The Secret Service—which saw about two dozen agents fired or punished because of the scandal—reportedly showed White House officials (including Kathryn Ruemmler, the government's counsel at the time) evidence that Dach had brought someone up to his room, but those findings were said to be dismissed. White House officials say they conducted interviews with Dach and "concluded that he had done nothing wrong"; they also told the Post earlier this year that a) Dach was just a volunteer at the time, not an employee, and b) prostitution is legal in Cartagena. Other allegations are being made by a leading Homeland Security investigator, who was tasked with looking into the scandal: David Nieland says his office found more evidence about Dach's supposed dalliance, but "we were directed at the time ... to delay the report of the investigation until after the 2012 election." Press secretary Josh Earnest attempted to pooh-pooh the Post's reporting with a tweet last night stating that this "supposed WaPo 'exclusive'" had already been discussed by the AP and other media two years ago—though in the cited AP story, the acting inspector general at the time "acknowledged that his investigators did not pursue information about the activities of the White House worker." Read the full article for more details.
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1 of 21. South Korean ferry ''Sewol'' (L) is seen sinking at the sea off Jindo, as lighting flares are released for a night search, April 16, 2014.
JINDO, South Korea (Reuters) - Several people appear to have survived in an air pocket of a capsized South Korean ferry, the father of one of the school children aboard the boat told a Reuters reporter accompanying families out to the scene of the disaster on Thursday.
About 290 people are still missing out of 450 passengers on the Sewol ferry, which capsized in still-mysterious circumstances off the Korean peninsula on Wednesday in what could be the country's worst maritime accident in 20 years.
Many of the passengers were school children from one high school on the outskirts of Seoul.
"(The child) told me in the text message, 'I am alive, there are students alive, please save us quickly," the father said.
Coastguard and navy divers resumed searching on Thursday after the ferry capsized in sight of land on a trip from the port city of Incheon to the holiday island of Jeju, about 100 km (60 miles) south of the peninsula.
Grieving family members gathered early on Thursday on the quay of the coastal city of Jindo, huddled in blankets against the spring cold as efforts to find the missing went into a second day.
One parent, Park Yung-suk, told Reuters she had seen the body of her teenage daughter's teacher brought ashore earlier in the morning.
"If I could teach myself to dive, I would jump in the water and try to find my daughter," Park said as light rain fell.
So far 179 people have been rescued and six confirmed dead.
As coastguard officials arrived at Jindo on Thursday, waiting relatives jeered at them, shouting: "The weather's nice, why aren't you starting the rescue."
It is not known why the 6,586 metric ton vessel, built in Japan 20 years ago, sank.
Nautical charts of the wider area show reefs and shallow waters, although one government official appeared to discount the possibility the ship had hit a rock.
It was not immediately clear why the Sewol ferry had listed heavily onto its side in apparently calm waters off South Korea's southwest coast, but some survivors spoke of a loud noise prior to the disaster.
There were reports of the ferry having veered off course, but coordinates of the site of the accident provided by port authorities indicated it was not far off the regular shipping lane.
The ferry sent a distress signal early on Wednesday, the coastguard said, triggering a rescue operation that involved almost 100 coastguard and navy vessels and fishing boats, as well as 18 helicopters.
According to public shipping databases, the registered owner of the ship is Chonghaejin Marine Co Ltd, based in Incheon. Reuters was unable to reach the company by phone.
Earlier, in a statement read out to local media, a company official offered an apology over the accident but declined to comment further.
The databases showed that Chonghaejin Marine Co Ltd became the owner of the vessel in October, 2012.
(Additional reporting by Jack Kim, Ju-Min Park, Choonsik Yoo, Meeyoung Cho and James Pearson in SEOUL and Jonathan Saul in LONDON; Writing by David Chance; Editing by Dean Yates) ||||| MOKPO, South Korea (AP) — Koo Bon-hee could see the exit. For half an hour, as the doomed ferry filled with water and listed severely on its side, the crew told passengers to wait for rescuers.
Parents attend a candle light vigil to hope for their children's safe return at Danwon high school in Ansan, South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. A South Korean passenger ship carrying more than 470... (Associated Press)
In this photo released by the South Korean Coast Guard via Yonhap News Agency, South Korean coast guard officers rescue passengers from a sinking ferry off the southern coast near Jindo, south of Seoul,... (Associated Press)
In this image taken from video from Mokpo Coast Guard, passengers from a ferry sinking off South Korea's southern coast, are rescued by South Korean Coast guard in the water off the southern coast near... (Associated Press)
People watch a TV news program showing a sinking passenger ship, at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. The South Korean passenger ship carrying more than 470 people,... (Associated Press)
Rescued passengers from a ferry sinking off South Korea's southern coast, are escorted by rescue teams on their arrival at a port in Jindo, south of Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. More... (Associated Press)
South Korea rescue helicopter and fishing boats try to rescue passengers from a passenger ship in water off the southern coast in South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. The South Korean passenger ship... (Associated Press)
A mother weeps as she and others search for their children's names among a list of survivors rescued from a ferry that sank off the country's southern coast, at Danwon high school in Ansan, South Korea,... (Associated Press)
In this photo released by South Korea Coast Guard via Yonhap News Agency, South Korean rescue team boats and fishing boats try to rescue passengers of a ferry sinking off South Korea's southern coast,... (Associated Press)
Relatives wait for their missing loved ones at a port in Jindo, South Korea, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. A ferry carrying 459 people, mostly high school students on an overnight trip to a tourist island,... (Associated Press)
In this photo released by Jeollanamdo via Yonhap News Agency, South Korean rescue team boats and fishing boats try to rescue passengers of a ferry sinking off South Korea's southern coast, in the water... (Associated Press)
A rescued passenger from a ferry sinking off South Korea's southern coast, is carried by police and rescue teams on his arrival at Jindo port in Jindo, south of Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 16,... (Associated Press)
This undated photo shows South Korean passenger ship Sewol. A government office said Wednesday, April 16, 2014 the South Korean passenger ship carrying about 470 people have sent a distress call off the... (Associated Press)
In this image taken from video released by News Y via Yonhap, passengers from a ferry sinking off South Korea's southern coast, are rescued by a South Korean Coast Guard helicopter in the water off the... (Associated Press)
With their breathing room disappearing, the 36-year-old businessman and some of the other passengers floated to an exit and swam to a nearby fishing boat. But 290 of the 475 people aboard — many of them high school students on a class trip — were still missing after the ferry sank Wednesday off the southern coast of South Korea. Six were confirmed dead and 55 were injured.
Early Thursday, divers, helicopters and boats continued to search for survivors from the ferry, which slipped beneath the surface until only the blue-tipped, forward edge of the keel was visible. The high number of people unaccounted for — possibly trapped in the ship or floating in the chilly water nearby — raised fears that the death toll could increase drastically.
It was still unknown why the ferry sank, and the coast guard was interviewing the captain and crew. The Sewol, a 146-meter (480-foot) vessel that can hold more than 900 people, set sail Tuesday from Incheon, in northwestern South Korea, on an overnight, 14-hour journey to the tourist island of Jeju.
About 9 a.m. Wednesday, when it was three hours from Jeju, the ferry sent a distress call after it began listing to one side, according to the Ministry of Security and Public Administration.
Passenger Kim Seong-mok told broadcaster YTN that after having breakfast, he felt the ferry tilt and then heard it crash into something. He said an announcement told passengers to not move from their places and that he never heard another about evacuating.
He said he was certain that many people were trapped inside the ferry as water rushed in and the severe tilt of the vessel kept them from reaching the exits.
Koo also complained about the crew's efforts during the initial stages of the disaster, saying early misjudgments may account for the large number of missing.
In addition to the order not to evacuate immediately, Koo said many people were trapped inside by windows that were too hard to break.
"The rescue wasn't done well. We were wearing life jackets. We had time," Koo, who was on a business trip to Jeju with a co-worker, said from a hospital bed in Mokpo, the nearest major city to the site of the accident, where he was treated for minor injuries. "If people had jumped into the water ... they could have been rescued. But we were told not to go out."
Oh-Yong-seok, a 58-year-old crew member who escaped with about a dozen others, including the captain, told The Associated Press that rescue efforts were hampered by the ferry's severe tilt.
"We couldn't even move one step. The slope was too big," Oh said.
Student Lim Hyung-min told YTN that he and others jumped into the water wearing life jackets and then swam to a nearby rescue boat.
"As the ferry was shaking and tilting, we all tripped and bumped into each another," Lim said, adding that some people were bleeding. Once he jumped, the ocean "was so cold. ... I was hurrying, thinking that I wanted to live."
Dozens of coast guard and navy divers searched for survivors around the Sewol's wreckage a little north of Byeongpung Island, which is not far from the mainland and about 470 kilometers (290 miles) from Seoul.
Coast guard spokesman Cho Man-yong said 16 divers could not get inside the ferry Wednesday night because the current was too strong. The water was muddy and visibility was poor, he said, but divers would try again Thursday morning.
"We cannot give up," said South Korean President Park Geun-hye, after a briefing in Seoul. "We have to do our best to rescue even one passenger."
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the U.S. and its 7th Fleet stood ready to assist, including the USS Bonhomme Richard, which was in the region.
The last major ferry disaster in South Korea was in 1993, when 292 people were killed.
TV stations broadcast live pictures Wednesday of the listing Sewol as passengers clambered over the side, jumped into the sea or were hoisted up by helicopters. At least 87 vessels and 18 aircraft swarmed around the stricken ferry.
The water temperature in the area was about 12 degrees Celsius (54 Fahrenheit), cold enough to cause signs of hypothermia after about 1½ hours of exposure, according to an emergency official who spoke on condition of anonymity because department rules did not allow talking to the media.
Lee Gyeong-og, a vice minister for the Public Administration and Security Ministry, said the ocean was 37 meters (121 feet) deep in the area.
The survivors — wet, stunned and many without shoes — were brought to nearby Jindo Island, where medical teams wrapped them in pink blankets and checked for injuries before taking them to a cavernous gymnasium.
As the search dragged on, families of the missing gathered at a nearby dock, some crying and holding each other. Boats circled the sunken ferry into the night, illuminated by red flares.
Angry shouts could be heard when Prime Minister Chung Hong-won visited a shelter where relatives of the missing passengers waited for news. Some yelled that the government should have sent more divers to search the wreckage.
The numbers of passengers, as well as the dead and missing, fluctuated throughout the day. As of early Thursday, South Korean authorities estimated 475 people were on the ferry.
Of that total, there were 325 students and 15 teachers from Danwon High School in Ansan, a city near Seoul. They were headed to Jeju for a four-day trip, according to a relief team set up by Gyeonggi province.
Authorities said the dead included a female member of the crew and two male students. A coast guard officer confirmed three other fatalities but had few details about them. Kang Byung-kyu, a government minister, said 55 people were injured. Coast guard officials put the number of survivors early Thursday at 179.
Many South Korean high schools organize trips for first- or second-year students, and Jeju is a popular destination. The students on the ferry were in their second year, which would make most of them 16 or 17.
At Danwon High School, students were sent home early and parents gathered for news about their children. Park Ji-hee, a first-year student, said she saw about a dozen parents crying at the school entrance.
There are faster ways to get to Jeju, but the ferry from Incheon is cheaper than flying.
The Sewol, which travels twice a week between Incheon and Jeju, was built in Japan in 1994 and could carry a maximum of 921 people, 180 vehicles and 152 shipping containers, according to the Yonhap news agency.
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Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul contributed to this report. ||||| Heartbreaking text message exchanges between students trapped in the sinking ferry off the coast of South Korea and their anxious parents are offering a glimpse into the desperate situation in the crippled vessel.
"Dad, don't worry. I've got a life vest on and we're huddled together," one 18-year-old student, identified only by her last name, Shin, texted her father, according to MBC News, a Korean news station.
The father replied: "I know the rescue is underway but make your way out if you can."
"Dad, I can't walk out," she replied. "The corridor is full of kids, and it's too tilted."
The student was among the 287 still reported missing.
WATCH: Korea Ferry Accident: Families Anxiously Wait
In another exchange, a male student texted his mother, who was unaware at the time that the ferry was in distress.
"Mom, I might not be able to tell you in person. I love you," the student texted, according to MBC.
"Me too, son. I love you," the mother texted back, followed with three heart symbols.
Fortunately, that student was among the 179 people who have been rescued, MBC reported.
Survivors told harrowing tales of confusion and desperation as people slid along the floor of the sharply listing ship, colliding with one another, or found themselves trapped in cabins by a wall of water.
Rescued passengers said that immediately after they heard a booming noise, the ship began listing and they heard an announcement over the ship's PA system telling the passengers to stay in place.
"The baggage was falling out, and we were saying 'What's going on?' But the announcement told us to stay where we were, so we did," one rescued student told MBC.
READ MORE: Nearly 300 Missing After Ferry Sinks off South Korea's Coast
"The ship began tilting all of a sudden, and then people started skidding down from above," rescued passenger Young-Ja Shin told SBS News. "There was a railing, so I held onto it, but I then got hit by one of the falling people and we got pushed down to the bottom."
"It took about 10 seconds to tilt over, and then I began sliding from end to end," rescued passenger Eun-Bok Jang, 50, told SBS News. "I got hit on my side and then I couldn't breathe."
The vessel tipped over completely on its side, and there was mass confusion inside the ferry as refrigerators and other things fell over, Jang said.
When the water started rushing in, many passengers put on life vests and escaped outside. But by the time that announcements told passengers to make their way out, the ship had already submerged significantly, so there were few exits that could be used for escape, rescued passengers said.
Many passengers were gathered in the entertainment center, restaurants and shops on the third floor of the 5-deck ship, but when the ferry capsized, that third floor was fully submerged, authorities told the Yonhap news agency. There was most likely a power outage immediately after the ship capsized, so confused and frantic passengers probably had a hard time finding their way out in the dark and narrow passage ways.
"When we were making our way out, the wall was almost all water, and it was completely submerged up to the third floor," survivor In-Hwan Kang, 58, told MBC.
So-Hyun Kim, a teacher accompanying the more than 300 students from Danwon High School in Ansan, said she initially stayed in her cabin because of the announcements, but had to attempt an escape when water came rushing in.
"I couldn't go anywhere. I didn't have the strength to climb further up," she told SBS News. "There was an open emergency exit, so another teacher and I decided to just fall and swim our way toward it. I fell and hit a railing, and that's when I was rescued."
Of the 475 passengers on board the ferry, 179 were rescued. Another 287 were listed as missing and 9 died.
Rescuers were seen boarding the vessel, which had tipped to its side, and combing through the top of the ship for survivors. One man boarded the boat and quickly found what appeared to be a crew member still on it.
Bodies could be seen scattered through the water in another video shot from a helicopter. A yellow raft was tossed out of the chopper and survivors in the water swam toward it before they were pulled to safety.
Others were winched in slings to the safety of hovering helicopters.
As darkness fell, the ferry took on more water and only the rudder of the vessel remained visible before the ship sank about 100 feet below the water. Rescuers stopped searching for those still reported missing at about 7 p.m. due to strong currents and poor visibility, but they resumed their mission around 12:30 a.m. local time, taking advantage of a lull in the strong currents.
One rescued passenger said he believed that many people had been trapped inside the ferry when it sank.
The ferry, identified as the Sewol, was sailing to the southern island of Jeju when it sent a distress call as it began leaning to one side. The passengers include more than 300 students from Danwon High School in Ansan, near Seoul, who were on a school trip.
Yonhap/AP Photo
Yonhap/AP Photo
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– With angry, grieving relatives looking on from shore, South Korean divers continued to search for any sign of the roughly 290 people still missing from yesterday's ferry sinking, reports Reuters. Of the 475 people on board—most of them teenagers—179 were rescued and six have been confirmed dead. Survivor accounts suggest the rest got trapped in the ferry as water rushed in. ABC News has some wrenching texts, including these: "Dad, don't worry. I've got a life vest on and we're huddled together," wrote an 18-year-old girl. When her father told her to try to make her way to safety, she responded, "Dad, I can't walk out. The corridor is full of kids, and it's too tilted." She remains missing. "Mom, I might not be able to tell you in person. I love you," wrote a male student to his mother, who was unaware of the ferry's trouble. He was among those rescued. Other survivors say people inside obeyed orders issued on the PA system to remain where they were, which might have been a deadly mistake. "The rescue wasn't done well," says an adult male survivor as quoted by AP. "We were wearing life jackets. We had time. If people had jumped into the water ... they could have been rescued. But we were told not to go out." The water is about 54 degrees Fahrenheit, cold enough to start causing problems after 90 minutes. Relatives, meanwhile, are losing patience. "If I could teach myself to dive, I would jump in the water and try to find my daughter," says one. The cause of the accident remains unknown.
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BAD TIMING
It’s hard to believe that it’s taken this long for The Disney Channel to feature a same-sex couple in one of its shows, but apparently, it has happened. The Disney Channel officially featured their first lesbian couple in an episode of Good Luck Charlie this week, and the whole situation is just so hilarious that they’ve plugged a laugh track over it because—you know—gay people are hilarious!
As you can see in the clip above, parents Bob and Amy Duncan share confusion over who, exactly, is the mother of Taylor, a child whom Charlie has invited over for a playdate. While awaiting the arrival of their guests, Amy swears she’s met Taylor’s mother Susan. Duncan swears he’s met Taylor’s mother Cheryl.
Haha! screams the laugh track, as Amy opens the door to reveal Taylor’s two lesbian moms. Faint giggles are heard as the lesbian mothers are introduced. Finally, a screeching LOL! in response to Duncan’s revelation that “Taylor has two moms!”
Disney claims it “consulted child development experts and community advisors” to make sure the Miley Cyrus-approved same-sex parent plot was “relevant to kids and families around the world and to reflect themes of diversity and inclusiveness.” LOL! Wonder if those child development experts roared with laughter when Disney brought up lesbian moms?
Sure, I understand that most sitcoms rely on laugh tracks to ease you through painfully boring dialogue, but is making a lesbian couple the punchline of (admittedly a harmless) joke the best way to “reflect themes of diversity and inclusiveness”? C’mon, Disney, I thought you were smarter than this. ||||| While you were busy reading your 27th think piece on Macklemore performing “Same Love” at the Grammys and Looking being boring, something actually kind of monumental happened: the Disney Channel featured its first gay couple on an episode of one of its original series.
Good Luck Charlie, one of the network’s most popular original comedies, featured a lesbian couple on Sunday’s episode. The plot was refreshingly innocuous, but pointed enough to let it be known that it was, you know, kind of a big deal that a Disney Channel series aimed at young children was taking this step.
The very sitcom-y premise: parents Bob and Amy Duncan set up a playdate for their daughter, Charlie, with her friend, Taylor and Taylor’s parents. Amy says the mother’s name is Susan. Bob swears he met her before…but her name is Cheryl. When they arrive, they find out that they were both right. Taylor has two mothers, and their names are Susan and Cheryl. Here’s the scene:
It’s so painfully clear what will happen when Bob and Amy open the door—Oh my god! Two moms!—that you almost cringe in anticipation of a groan-worthy gag or borderline offensive punchline. But the actual joke was neither of those things! Bob facepalms his forehead. “Taylor has two moms,” he says, in a “duh!” manner signaling that’s there’s nothing else to be discussed about it. That it’s no big deal. That it’s fine.
In fact, Disney was so bullish about this whole idea that Taylor having two moms was “fine” that it even put in the episode’s plot description that ran on TVGuide.com: “In the storyline, parents Amy and Bob Duncan (Leigh-Allyn Baker and Eric Allan Kramer) set up a playdate for preschooler Charlie (Mia Talerico) and one of her new friends. When the kid arrives, the Duncans learn that Charlie’s pal has two moms. That’s fine [emphasis ours], but the potential new friendship is put to the test as one mom chats with Amy, and the other is stuck listening to Bob's dull stories.”
As amusing as it is that Disney felt the need to editorialize the plot description, it is good news that the company is, indeed, fine with showing a gay couple on the series. When it was announced back in June that they would be doing the episode, Disney’s spokesperson was happy to say just how fine they were with it, saying the plot was developed “under the consultancy of child development experts and community advisers. And like Disney Channel programming, it was developed to be relevant to kids and families around the world and to reflect themes of diversity and inclusiveness.”
While Disney was fine—so fine!—with its decision to feature a gay couple, the anti-gay group One Million Moms, predictably, was not. Here’s a little bit of the hogwash 250-word “Calling all parents!” bulletin it put out encouraging a viewer and advertiser boycott of the show: “Just because something may be legal or because some are choosing a lifestyle doesn’t make it morally correct.”
The move did have two very high-profile fans, though, in Evan Rachel Wood and former Disney princess herself, Miley Cyrus:
There are, as there always are, reasons for some to be dissatisfied with the extent of Disney’s gesture, and some who may view it as empty. To begin with, it was a fringe storyline on the episode—not part of the main plot. There’s also the fact that these characters aren’t slated to appear in any more episodes of the series because—oh yeah—the next new episode of Good Luck Charlie will be its series finale.
But you know what? That’s still fine. ||||| Last night's episode of Good Luck Charlie, "Down a Tree," broke new ground for the Disney Channel with the inclusion of a lesbian couple, the network's first out characters in a series. In the episode, Amy and Bob Duncan set up a playdate for their daughter Charlie and one of her new friends, who just happens to have two moms. The couples come to find that they just don't get along when Bob bores one mom with work stories and the other continuously cuts Amy off, check out a clip below.
The inclusion of a family with two moms is a historic move in the right direction for the network which has never before included out gay characters in their series and made-for-TV films. In an interview about the Good Luck Charlie episode, a Disney spokesperson said, "Like all Disney Channel programming, it was developed to be relevant to kids and families around the world and to reflect themes of diversity and inclusiveness."
During November 2012, the Disney Channel's social outreach campaign "Make Your Mark," which encourages and inspires kids to make a difference in the world, featured a 14-year-old named Ben, an aspiring filmmaker who has two moms. Ben's spot ran on Disney Channel for several weeks, check it out below. ||||| While Macklemore was rapping about marriage equality on the Grammys stage, the Disney Channel was making a statement of its own on Sunday, Jan. 26. The network featured its first ever same-sex couple on the show Good Luck Charlie.
After announcing the decision in June 2013, the channel finally delivered when lesbian mothers Susan and Cheryl dropped off their daughter Taylor for a play date with the main family's daughter Charlie.
PHOTOS: Out and proud celebs
Disney even added in some humor to the introduction when Charlie's parents Amy (Leigh-Allyn Baker) and Bob (Eric Allan Kramer) are confused about who Taylor's mom was before meeting the couple.
"Taylor has two moms!" Bob declared after meeting the two women, proving he had been right in calling one of the moms Cheryl.
"Wow, nothing gets past you, Bob," his wife sarcastically replied.
PHOTOS: Hollywood's gay power couples
Actress Desi Lydic, who played mom Susan, tweeted to excited fans after the episode aired, "I'm so proud to be part of that episode! Go Disney! #equality."
The show has been on since 2010 and is currently in its fourth and final season. Last June, Disney channel producers spoke with TV Guide about the groundbreaking decision to include a same-sex couple on the children's show.
"This particular storyline was developed under the consultancy of child development experts and community advisors," a Disney Channel spokesperson told TV Guide. "Like all Disney Channel programming, it was developed to be relevant to kids and families around the world and to reflect themes of diversity and inclusiveness."
DISNEY CHANNEL/Bob D'Amico
At the time of the announcement, former Disney star Miley Cyrus tweeted out in support of her former network's decision.
PHOTOS: Miley Cyrus, then and now
"I commend Disney for making this step into the light of this generation," she wrote. "They control…so much of what kids think! Life isn't bright sets & wardrobe & kids becoming superstars! This is INSPIRING."
But not everyone was as pleased as Cyrus was with the family-based programming.
One Million Moms -- the same group who led a boycott on JCPennys for naming Ellen DeGeneres as an ambassador -- posted an official call to action on their website based on the historic episode.
PHOTOS: Disney stars through the years
"Disney has decided to be politically correct instead of providing family-friendly programming," the group wrote. "Disney should stick to entertaining, not pushing an agenda. Conservative families need to urge Disney to avoid controversial topics that children are far too young to comprehend. This is the last place a parent would expect their children to be confronted with topics that are too difficult for them to understand. Mature issues of this nature are being introduced too early and too soon, and it is extremely unnecessary."
The Susan and Cheryl characters are not expected to appear on the series after the Jan. 26 episode. ||||| While Queen Latifah was marrying all manner of couples at the Grammys on Sunday night, the Disney Channel slipped its own milestone under the radar: the first appearance of a lesbian couple on one of its TV shows.
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It happened on the sitcom Good Luck Charlie (which is apparently written for the whole family, not just kids). Charlie has a playdate with a new friend, Taylor, who—it turns out—has two moms. As you can see from the clip above, that's treated as no big thing. The problem is, according to TV Guide's synopsis, "the potential new friendship is put to the test as one mom chats with Amy, and the other is stuck listening to Bob's dull stories."
Disney explained the development of the episode back in June, when it was initially announced:
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"This particular storyline was developed under the consultancy of child development experts and community advisors," a Disney Channel spokesperson says. "Like all Disney Channel programming, it was developed to be relevant to kids and families around the world and to reflect themes of diversity and inclusiveness."
It's strange in this day and age to see lesbian parents treated as a little exotic. Plenty of kids (and probably plenty of kids watching the Disney Channel) are being raised by same-sex couples. Then again, I suppose you could read the little argument over Taylor's mom's name as a lesson in making assumptions.
Plus, you're generally doing something worthwhile when it inspires One Million Moms to shit bricks. But Miley approves!
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(h/t Joe. My. God) ||||| Alerting all parents! In a first for the Disney Channel, an episode in the next season of "Good Luck Charlie" will feature a family with two moms.
The episode will air in early 2014 as part of "Good Luck Charlie's" final season. Because "Good Luck Charlie" is coming to a close, the characters are only expected to appear in one episode. However, one episode is bad enough, and the network repeatedly airs previews in commercials leading up to new episodes and also replays episodes in reruns.
In the storyline, parents Amy and Bob Duncan (Leigh-Allyn Baker and Eric Allan Kramer) set up a playdate for preschooler Charlie (Mia Talerico) and one of her new friends. When the child arrives, the Duncans learn that Charlie's pal has two moms.
Disney Channel understands the controversial nature of featuring a same-sex couple on one of its sitcoms and said it took extra care in crafting the episode. "This particular storyline was developed under the consultancy of child development experts and community advisors," a Disney Channel spokesperson said. "Like all Disney Channel programming, it was developed to be relevant to kids and families around the world and to reflect themes of diversity and inclusiveness."
Just because something may be legal or because some are choosing a lifestyle doesn't make it morally correct. Disney should stick to entertaining instead of pushing an agenda. Disney decided to be politically correct versus providing family-friendly programming. Disney has a choice whether to produce a program with certain fictional characters; the storyline could be re-written or changed. Conservative families need to urge Disney to exclude confusing topics that children are far too young to comprehend.
Media influences children tremendously. Gay-rights advocate Miley Cyrus, who got her start on the channel's hit series "Hannah Montana," has praised the network for the decision. In a post on Twitter, she wrote, "I commend Disney for making this step into the light of this generation. They control so much of what kids think!"
Unfortunately, children are now being exposed to same-sex marriage on a network that is designed for kids. This is the last place a parent would expect their children to be confronted with topics that are too complicated for them to understand. Issues of this nature are being introduced too early and too soon, and it is becoming extremely common and unnecessary.
Families tuning in to watch a children's network may encounter a premature discussion on sexual orientation that is completely uncalled for. Disney claims it is not responsible for Gay Days held at the Magic Kingdom because it is out of its hands, but Disney cannot hide behind that excuse any longer and pretend it is not pushing an agenda. One Million Moms will hold Disney accountable for the content produced and marketed directly to young viewers over the Disney Channel Network, which they have complete control over.
Take Action
Please send Disney an email letter requesting they omit the scene in "Good Luck Charlie" featuring two moms or do not air this controversial episode at all. If producers keep this episode as originally planned, then conservative families will have no choice but to no longer watch Disney Channel Network in their homes so they can avoid the previews, commercials and reruns for this irresponsible episode. Families will not allow Disney Channel in their homes if they must protest the network veering away from family-friendly entertainment.
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– The Disney Channel rather quietly debuted its first gay couple on Sunday night, a lesbian couple who appeared on an episode of the sitcom Good Luck Charlie. The storyline was played for laughs, Us reports, with main characters Amy and Bob confused about the identity of their daughter's friend's mom until they realize ... she has two moms (who aren't expected to appear on the show again). Not everyone was impressed: On Queerty, Matthew Tharrett takes issue with the laugh track that accompanied the minute-long scene. "Sure, I understand that most sitcoms rely on laugh tracks to ease you through painfully boring dialogue, but is making a lesbian couple the punchline of (admittedly a harmless) joke the best way to 'reflect themes of diversity and inclusiveness'? C'mon, Disney, I thought you were smarter than this." One Million Moms is upset for an entirely different reason: "Just because something may be legal or because some are choosing a lifestyle doesn't make it morally correct. Disney should stick to entertaining instead of pushing an agenda." On Jezebel, Kelly Faircloth notes that while "it's strange in this day and age to see lesbian parents treated as a little exotic ... I suppose you could read the little argument over Taylor's mom's name as a lesson in making assumptions." At the Daily Beast, however, Kevin Fallon doesn't think the moms were treated as exotic at all. "You almost cringe in anticipation of a groan-worthy gag or borderline offensive punchline. But the actual joke was neither of those things! Bob facepalms his forehead. 'Taylor has two moms,' he says, in a 'duh!' manner signaling that’s there’s nothing else to be discussed about it. That it’s no big deal. That it’s fine." And GLAAD called the move "historic."
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‘My body went through so much’: Diva Mariah Carey complains about her 'really difficult' pregnancy in bizarre TV interview
Becoming a mother doesn't seem to have dialled down Mariah Carey's infamous diva attitude.
While many mothers quickly forget the discomfort of pregnancy and pain of labour once their baby is in their arms, the singer has openly complained about the 'bleak' period in her life.
During an appearance on the Home Shopping Network on Sunday, the 41-year-old said: ' Everyone was always saying to me, "Oh but it's all worth it". And I was like, "Yeah well it's easy for you to say when you're not the one whose feet are this big".'
Scroll down to watch the video
'Really difficult': Mariah Carey has discussed her pregnancy with twins Monroe and Morocco, calling it a 'bleak' time
The Grammy winner added: 'It turned into a really difficult time. [Being] pregnant with twins is different to anything.
'My body went through so much - you have to keep those twins in as long as possible, but it's a sacrifice you make for them. I was literally 47 weeks pregnant.'
Mariah gave birth to twins Monroe and Morocco on April 30.
Discussing her previous appearance on the network, to promote her jewellery line, Mariah told the host, 'Honey it was bleak for me. I was so uncomfortable back then.
'It's a sacrifice you make': The singer said she was 'literally 47 weeks pregnant' by the time she gave birth in April
The Heartbreaker singer's two-hour appearance on the shopping show included some other bizarre moments, including her directing the cameraman to not shoot her and attempting to speak in a British accent.
Mariah is firmly back in the spotlight after keeping a low profile for several months after the birth of her children with husband Nick Cannon, 30.
But after working hard to ensure she lost most of the pregnancy weight, Mariah ventured out again last week for a girls night out in New York.
Support: Mariah's husband Nick Cannon also joined her on the couch during the singer's two-hour segment
She was spotted with her friends at Juliet Supperclub, where she ordered a $1,600 bottle of Angel champagne.
As well as promoting her jewellery line, Mariah is also still rumoured to be involved in some capacity with X Factor USA.
Pregnancy: Mariah said she was 'so uncomfortable back then'
The superstar singer was already rumoured to be initially joining the U.S. edition of the hit talent show as a mentor for an episode or two.
But now Simon has confirmed that she is in talks for a more major role - even telling Cowell she wants to be 'the judge of the judges'.
'I think Mariah will have a role on the TV live shows. I met her recently and she was on great form,' the music mogul said.
'And her idea was to be the judge of the judges, which only Mariah could come up with.'
The new role would be the first time the format has changed in the seven year history of the show.
A source told Entertainment Weekly: 'Mariah and Simon are great friends, and now she has had her babies, it's very possible that she will be involved some way in the show.'
'She has always said she wanted to work with the show, so it's something they will certainly be discussing ideas for soon.'
||||| [There was a video here]
Mariah Carey hasn't been seen much since giving birth to twins in April, so people were especially curious on Sunday night ahead of her appearance on HSN to hawk everything from her fragrances to her jewelry. And by God, she delivered.
Carey's live sales pitch began at midnight and lasted two inexplicably mind-blowing hours. In tangent after tangent, she complained about how horrible her pregnancy was, barked out orders to the camera crew, made up new words—basically, anything but try to sell her designs.
Because nobody should be deprived of a chance to experience it, I've edited Carey's entire appearance down to the most memorable four minutes, video of which appears above.
And when you're done, be sure to check out this epic supercut video from Rich Juzwiak that features Carey saying the word "love" on air no less than 71 times.
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– Mariah Carey made her big post-baby debut ... on the Home Shopping Network. And the "two inexplicably mind-blowing hours" of her appearance were "insane," writes Matt Cherette on Gawker. "In tangent after tangent, she complained about how horrible her pregnancy was, barked out orders to the camera crew, made up new words—basically, anything but try to sell her designs," ranging from her fragrances to her jewelry. Among other things, Carey attempted a British accent and complained about how big her feet got and how "really difficult" it is to be pregnant with twins, the Daily Mail reports. "You have to keep those twins in as long as possible, but it's a sacrifice you make for them. I was literally 47 weeks pregnant," she said. Check out the best four minutes of the appearance, as compiled by Cherette.
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The Los Angeles Film Critics Association split between the space odyssey "Gravity" and the futuristic romance "Her," lending no more certainty to an awards season that's so far been full of contenders.
File- This undated file image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Joaquin Phoenix in a scene from "Her." The space odyssey “Gravity” and the futuristic romance “Her” have tied for best picture from... (Associated Press)
FILE-This publicity photo released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Sandra Bullock, left, as Dr. Ryan Stone and George Clooney as Matt Kowalsky in “Gravity." The space odyssey “Gravity” and the futuristic... (Associated Press)
The two films shared best picture in the awards announced Sunday by the L.A. critics, but "Gravity" was the top award-winner. The innovatively made, lost-in-space drama won for best director (Alfonso Cuaron), best editing (Cuaron and Mark Sanger) and best cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki).
"Her," which is about a man (Joaquin Phoenix) who falls in love with his computer operating system (voiced by Scarlet Johansson), also won for K.K. Barrett's sleek, near-future production design. But the critics otherwise spread its honors around.
Dual winners were the theme. Best actress was shared by Cate Blanchett for her fallen socialite in Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine," and Adele Exarchopoulos for the lesbian coming-of-age tale "Blue Is the Warmest Color." (The later film also won for best foreign language film.)
Best supporting actor was also a tie, with the group jointly honoring Jared Leto's performance as an HIV-positive transsexual in "Dallas Buyers Club" and, more surprisingly, James Franco's performance as the cornrowed gangster Alien in "Spring Breakers."
Best actor went to Bruce Dern for his performance in Alexander Payne's father-son road trip "Nebraska."
Early movie awards can help sort out the Academy Awards race, but they've been particularly varied this year. Last week, the New York Film Critics Circle named David O. Russell's Abscam fictionalization "American Hustle" best film. The National Board of Review picked "Her." The Gotham Awards elected the Coen brothers' folk tale "Inside Llewyn Davis" best film.
On Sunday, both the New York Film Critics Online and the Boston Film Critics named the slavery epic "12 Years a Slave" best picture. The LA critics also voiced its strong support for the film naming Lupita Nyong'o best supporting actress, and giving a "special citation" to the film's creative team.
Other awards included: "Before Midnight" for best screenplay, "Stories We Tell" for best documentary, and "Ernest & Celestine" for best animated film.
Last year, the LA critics chose as best picture Michael Haneke's aging drama "Amour," which went on to win the Oscar for best foreign language film. The association, a group of several dozen film critics, will hand out the awards in a Jan. 11 ceremony in Los Angeles.
Hollywood's awards season continues Wednesday with the Screen Actors Guild nominations, followed Thursday by the Golden Globe nominations.
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jake_coyle ||||| The Coen brothers' folk music tale "Inside Llewyn Davis" has won best film at the 23rd annual Gotham Independent Film Awards in New York.
This film image released by CBS FIlms shows Oscar Isaac in a scene from "Inside Llewyn Davis." (AP Photo/CBS FIlms, Alison Rosa) (Associated Press)
The win Monday night at a glitzy ceremony was an upset. The slavery epic "12 Years a Slave" is widely considered an Oscar front-runner and had a leading three Gotham nominations but didn't take any awards.
Best actor went to Matthew McConaughey for his performance in the HIV drama "Dallas Buyer's Club." Brie Larsen took best actress for her performance in the foster care drama "Short Term 12."
Steve Buscemi presented a posthumous tribute to his "Sopranos" co-star James Gandolfini.
The Gotham awards are presented by the Independent Filmmaker Project, an advocacy group for independent filmmakers. Awards are selected by juries. ||||| “Twelve Years a Slave” has solidified its status as an awards-season front-runner, leading the SAG Awards nominations with four.
“August: Osage County,” “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” and “Dallas Buyers Club” each received three nominations for the 20th iteration of the SAG Awards, announced Wednesday morning at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles.
“12 Years” — which has been widely regarded as likely to draw a Best Picture Oscar nod — received nominations for cast ensemble, Chiwetel Ejiofor for lead actor, Michael Fassbender for supporting actor and Lupita Nyong’o for supporting actress.
SEE ALSO: Reactions from today’s nominees
“August: Osage County,” “The Butler,” “Dallas Buyers Club” also took cast ensemble nominations as did “American Hustle.”
Jennifer Lawrence, who won the Oscar and SAG Award lead actress awards this year for “Silver Linings Playbook,” took a nomination for “American Hustle” — giving the David O’Russell drama a pair of nods. “Captain Phillips,” “Nebraska” and “Rush” also received two nominations.
“Rush” grabbed nods for Daniel Bruhl for supporting actor — probably the biggest surprise among the nominations — and for its stunt ensemble.
Related From 'Camping' to 'Kidding': How Star Power Attracts Ensemble TV Casts SAG Dates 2020 Award Show for Two Weeks Before Oscars
The late James Gandolfini took a supporting actor nom for “Enough Said” in the only nomination for the drama-comedy. Gandolfini previously won three SAG TV awards for “The Sopranos” along with two cast awards.
Gandolfini, who died in June, is only the third actor to receive a posthumous SAG nomination, after Massimo Troisi for “The Postman” in 1995 and Heath Ledger for “The Dark Knight in 2008.
“Blue Jasmine,” “Gravity,” “Philomena” and “Saving Mr. Banks” also received single SAG acting nominations.
Martin Scorsese’s “Wolf of Wall Street,” which has not opened yet, was shut out along with “Inside Llewyn Davis,” “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” “Fruitvale Station” and Spike Jonze’s “Her.” “All Is Lost” received a stunt ensemble nod but Robert Redford — the only actor in the film — was passed over. Redford recently won the New York Film Critics Circle award for best actor.
“The Butler,” which has taken in over $115 million domestically for The Weinstein Co., scored SAG nominations for best ensemble cast, male actor in a leading role for Forest Whitaker and a supporting nod for Oprah Winfrey.
Ejiofor and Whitaker face competition in the lead actor category from Bruce Dern for “Nebraska,” Tom Hanks for “Captain Phillips” and Matthew McConaughey for “Dallas Buyers Club.”
The female lead actor nominees were represented by a quintet of veterans: Cate Blanchett for “Blue Jasmine,” Sandra Bullock for “Gravity,” Judi Dench for “Philomena,” Meryl Streep for “August: Osage County” and Emma Thompson for “Saving Mr. Banks.” All except Thompson have previously won SAG awards.
Besides Bruhl, Fassbender and Gandolfini, the contenders in the supporting actor category are newcomer Barkhad Abdi for “Captain Phillips” and Jared Leto for “Dallas Buyers Club.”
Nyong’o, Lawrence and Winfrey face Julia Roberts for “August: Osage County” and June Squibb for “Nebraska” in the supporting actress category.
On the TV side, “Breaking Bad” led the field with four noms. “Boardwalk Empire,” “Game of Thrones,” “Homeland,” “30 Rock,” “The Big Bang Theory” and “Modern Family” all grabbed three bids apiece. “Mad Men” was left out of the running for the first time in the show’s history. Awards darling “Girls” also failed to crack the SAG list.
Drama series ensemble noms went to “Boardwalk Empire,” “Breaking Bad,” “Downton Abbey,” “Game of Thrones” and “Homeland.” Comedy ensemble contenders are “30 Rock,” “Arrested Development,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Modern Family” and “Veep.”
“Downton” won the drama series ensemble award this year. “Modern Family” has won the SAG ensemble comedy series award for the past three years.
Alec Baldwin received a nom for male actor in a comedy series for “30 Rock” — a category he has won seven straight times. Tina Fey got a nod for “30 Rock,” which she won this year for her fourth SAG award in the category.
It was Baldwin’s 20th SAG nomination, including eight cast nods. Edie Falco also received her 20th nomination with actress and cast nods for “Nurse Jackie.” She won three indivdual SAG awards for “The Sopranos” along with two ensemble cast trophies.
David Hyde Pierce was the previous record holder for most SAG nominations with 19.
Winners will be announced at the Shrine Auditorium on Jan. 18 with telecasts on TNT and TBS.
Nominees were selected by two randomly selected panels of about 2,000 members of SAG.
Sasha Alexander and Clark Gregg announced the SAG nominations.
The winner of the SAG ensemble trophy has matched the best pic Oscar winner in nine of the last 18 years including “Argo” this year. However, last year SAG voters selected “The Help” while the Oscar went to “The Artist.”
The performers union served as a strong indicator in the Oscar acting categories this year with 14 of its 20 nominees going on to receive Oscar noms. Jennifer Lawrence and Daniel Day-Lewis (“Lincoln”) won both the Oscar and SAG lead acting trophies and Anne Hathaway won both awards for supporting actress for “Les Miserables” while Tommy Lee Jones won the SAG supporting actor trophy for “Lincoln” and Christoph Waltz won the supporting actor Oscar for “Django.”
The entire SAG-AFTRA membership of about 150,000 is eligible to cast ballots for the winners. Actors constitute the largest branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with 1,176 active members or about 20%.
Rita Moreno was previously announced as the winner of SAG’s Life Achievement Award.
The nominations follow:
THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
BRUCE DERN / Woody Grant – “NEBRASKA” (Paramount Pictures)
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR / Solomon Northup – “12 YEARS A SLAVE” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
TOM HANKS / Capt. Richard Phillips – “CAPTAIN PHILLIPS” (Columbia Pictures)
MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY / Ron Woodroof – “DALLAS BUYERS CLUB” (Focus Features)
FOREST WHITAKER / Cecil Gaines – “LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER” (The Weinstein Co.)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
CATE BLANCHETT / Jasmine – “BLUE JASMINE” (Sony Pictures Classics)
SANDRA BULLOCK / Ryan Stone – “GRAVITY” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
JUDI DENCH / Philomena Lee – “PHILOMENA” (The Weinstein Co.)
MERYL STREEP / Violet Weston – “AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY” (The Weinstein Co.)
EMMA THOMPSON / P.L. Travers – “SAVING MR. BANKS” (Walt Disney Pictures)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
BARKHAD ABDI / Muse – “CAPTAIN PHILLIPS” (Columbia Pictures)
DANIEL BRÜHL / Niki Lauda – “RUSH” (Universal Pictures)
MICHAEL FASSBENDER / Edwin Epps – “12 YEARS A SLAVE” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
JAMES GANDOLFINI / Albert – “ENOUGH SAID” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
JARED LETO / Rayon – “DALLAS BUYERS CLUB” (Focus Features)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
JENNIFER LAWRENCE / Rosalyn Rosenfeld – “AMERICAN HUSTLE” (Columbia Pictures)
LUPITA NYONG’O / Patsey – “12 YEARS A SLAVE” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
JULIA ROBERTS / Barbara Weston – “AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY” (The Weinstein Co.)
JUNE SQUIBB / Kate Grant – “NEBRASKA” (Paramount Pictures)
OPRAH WINFREY / Gloria Gaines – “LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER” (The Weinstein Co.)
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
12 YEARS A SLAVE (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH / Ford
PAUL DANO / Tibeats
GARRET DILLAHUNT / Armsby
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR / Solomon Northup
MICHAEL FASSBENDER / Edwin Epps
PAUL GIAMATTI / Freeman
SCOOT McNAIRY / Brown
LUPITA NYONG’O / Patsey
ADEPERO ODUYE / Eliza
SARAH PAULSON / Mistress Epps
BRAD PITT / Bass
MICHAEL KENNETH WILLIAMS / Robert
ALFRE WOODARD / Mistress Shaw
AMERICAN HUSTLE (Columbia Pictures)
AMY ADAMS / Sydney Prosser
CHRISTIAN BALE / Irving Rosenfeld
LOUIS C.K. / Stoddard Thorsen
BRADLEY COOPER / Richie DiMaso
PAUL HERMAN / Alfonse Simone
JACK HUSTON / Pete Musane
JENNIFER LAWRENCE / Rosalyn Rosenfeld
ALESSANDRO NIVOLA / Federal Prosecutor
MICHAEL PEÑA / Sheik (Agent Hernandez)
JEREMY RENNER / Mayor Carmine Polito
ELISABETH RÖHM / Dolly Polito
SHEA WHIGHAM / Carl Elway
AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (The Weinstein Co.)
ABIGAIL BRESLIN / Jean Fordham
CHRIS COOPER / Charles Aiken
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH / “Little” Charles Aiken
JULIETTE LEWIS / Karen Weston
MARGO MARTINDALE / Mattie Fae Aiken
EWAN McGREGOR / Bill Fordham
DERMOT MULRONEY / Steve
JULIANNE NICHOLSON / Ivy Weston
JULIA ROBERTS / Barbara Weston
SAM SHEPARD / Beverly Weston
MERYL STREEP / Violet Weston
MISTY UPHAM / Johnna
DALLAS BUYERS CLUB (Focus Features)
JENNIFER GARNER / Dr. Eve Saks
MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY / Ron Woodroof
JARED LETO / Rayon
DENIS O’HARE / Dr. Sevard
DALLAS ROBERTS / David Wayne
STEVE ZAHN / Tucker
LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER (The Weinstein Co.)
MARIAH CAREY / Hattie Pearl
JOHN CUSACK / Richard Nixon
JANE FONDA / Nancy Reagan
CUBA GOODING, JR. / Carter Wilson
TERRENCE HOWARD / Howard
LENNY KRAVITZ / James Holloway
JAMES MARSDEN / John F. Kennedy
DAVID OYELOWO / Louis Gaines
ALEX PETTYFER / Thomas Westfall
VANESSA REDGRAVE / Annabeth Westfall
ALAN RICKMAN / Ronald Reagan
LIEV SCHREIBER / Lyndon B. Johnson
FOREST WHITAKER / Cecil Gaines
ROBIN WILLIAMS / Dwight D. Eisenhower
OPRAH WINFREY / Gloria Gaines
TELEVISION PROGRAMS
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
MATT DAMON / Scott Thorson – “BEHIND THE CANDELABRA” (HBO)
MICHAEL DOUGLAS / Liberace – “BEHIND THE CANDELABRA” (HBO)
JEREMY IRONS / King Henry IV – “THE HOLLOW CROWN” (WNET/Thirteen)
ROB LOWE / John F. Kennedy – “KILLING KENNEDY” (National Geographic Channel)
AL PACINO / Phil Spector – “PHIL SPECTOR” (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
ANGELA BASSETT / Coretta Scott King – “BETTY & CORETTA” (Lifetime)
HELENA BONHAM CARTER / Elizabeth Taylor – “BURTON AND TAYLOR” (BBC America)
HOLLY HUNTER / G.J. – “TOP OF THE LAKE” (Sundance Channel)
HELEN MIRREN / Linda Kenney Baden – “PHIL SPECTOR” (HBO)
ELISABETH MOSS / Robin Griffin – “TOP OF THE LAKE” (Sundance Channel)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
STEVE BUSCEMI / Enoch “Nucky” Thompson – “BOARDWALK EMPIRE” (HBO)
BRYAN CRANSTON / Walter White – “BREAKING BAD” (AMC)
JEFF DANIELS / Will McAvoy – “THE NEWSROOM” (HBO)
PETER DINKLAGE / Tyrion Lannister – “GAME OF THRONES” (HBO)
KEVIN SPACEY / Francis Underwood – “HOUSE OF CARDS” (Netflix)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
CLAIRE DANES / Carrie Mathison – “HOMELAND” (Showtime)
ANNA GUNN / Skyler White – “BREAKING BAD” (AMC)
JESSICA LANGE / Fiona Goode – “AMERICAN HORROR STORY: COVEN” (FX)
MAGGIE SMITH / Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham – “DOWNTON ABBEY” (PBS)
KERRY WASHINGTON / Olivia Pope – “SCANDAL” (ABC)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy – “30 ROCK” (NBC)
JASON BATEMAN / Michael Bluth – “ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT” (Netflix)
TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy – “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)
DON CHEADLE / Martin “Marty” Kaan – “HOUSE OF LIES” (Showtime)
JIM PARSONS / Sheldon Cooper – “THE BIG BANG THEORY” (CBS)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
MAYIM BIALIK / Amy Farrah Fowler – “THE BIG BANG THEORY” (CBS)
JULIE BOWEN / Claire Dunphy – “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)
EDIE FALCO / Jackie Peyton – “NURSE JACKIE” (Showtime)
TINA FEY / Liz Lemon – “30 ROCK” (NBC)
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS / Vice President Selina Meyer – “VEEP” (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO)
PATRICIA ARQUETTE / Sally Wheet
MARGOT BINGHAM / Daughter Maitland
STEVE BUSCEMI / Enoch “Nucky” Thompson
BRIAN GERAGHTY / Agent Warren Knox
STEPHEN GRAHAM / Al Capone
ERIK LA RAY HARVEY / Dunn Purnsley
JACK HUSTON / Richard Harrow
RON LIVINGSTON / Roy Phillips
DOMENICK LOMBARDOZZI / Ralph Capone
GRETCHEN MOL / Gillian Darmody
BEN ROSENFIELD / Willie Thompson
MICHAEL STUHLBARG / Arnold Rothstein
JACOB WARE / Agent Selby
SHEA WHIGHAM / Elias “Eli” Thompson
MICHAEL KENNETH WILLIAMS / “Chalky” White
JEFFREY WRIGHT / Valentin Narcisse
BREAKING BAD (AMC)
MICHAEL BOWEN / Uncle Jack
BETSY BRANDT / Marie Schrader
BRYAN CRANSTON / Walter White
LAVELL CRAWFORD / Huell
TAIT FLETCHER / Lester
LAURA FRASER / Lydia Rodarte-Quale
ANNA GUNN / Skyler White
MATTHEW T. METZLER / Matt
RJ MITTE / Walter White Jr.
DEAN NORRIS / Hank Schrader
BOB ODENKIRK / Saul Goodman
AARON PAUL / Jesse Pinkman
JESSE PLEMONS / Todd
STEVEN MICHAEL QUEZADA / Gomez
KEVIN RANKIN / Kenny
PATRICK SANE / Frankie
DOWNTON ABBEY (PBS)
HUGH BONNEVILLE / Robert, Earl of Grantham
LAURA CARMICHAEL / Lady Edith Crawley
JIM CARTER / Mr. Carson
BRENDAN COYLE / John Bates
MICHELLE DOCKERY / Lady Mary Crawley
KEVIN DOYLE / Molesley
JESSICA BROWN FINDLAY / Lady Sybil Crawley
SIOBHAN FINNERAN / Sarah O’Brien
JOANNE FROGGATT / Anna Bates
ROB JAMES-COLLIER / Thomas Barrow
ALLEN LEECH / Tom Branson
PHYLLIS LOGAN / Mrs. Hughes
ELIZABETH McGOVERN / Cora, Countess of Grantham
SOPHIE McSHERA / Daisy
MATT MILNE / Alfred
LESLEY NICOL / Mrs. Patmore
AMY NUTTALL / Ethel
DAVID ROBB / Dr. Clarkson
MAGGIE SMITH / Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham
ED SPELEERS / Jimmy
DAN STEVENS / Matthew Crawley
CARA THEOBOLD / Ivy
PENELOPE WILTON / Isobel Crawley
GAME OF THRONES (HBO)
ALFIE ALLEN / Theon Greyjoy
JOHN BRADLEY / Samwell Tarly
OONA CHAPLIN / Talisa Maegyr
GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE / Brienne of Tarth
EMILIA CLARKE / Daenerys Targaryen
NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU / Jaime Lannister
MACKENZIE CROOK / Orell
CHARLES DANCE / Tywin Lannister
JOE DEMPSIE / Gendry
PETER DINKLAGE / Tyrion Lannister
NATALIE DORMER / Margaery Tyrell
NATHALIE EMMANUEL / Missandei
MICHELLE FAIRLEY / Lady Catelyn Stark
JACK GLEESON / Joffrey Baratheon
IAIN GLEN / Ser Jorah Mormont
KIT HARINGTON / Jon Snow
LENA HEADEY /Cersei Lannister
ISAAC HEMPSTEAD WRIGHT / Brandon “Bran” Stark
KRISTOFER HIVJU / Tormund Giantsbane
PAUL KAYE / Thoros of Myr
SIBEL KEKILLI / Shae
ROSE LESLIE / Ygritte
RICHARD MADDEN / Robb Stark
RORY McCANN / Sandor “The Hound” Clegane
MICHAEL McELHATTON / Roose Bolton
IAN McELHINNEY / Barristan Selmy
PHILIP McGINLEY / Anguy
HANNAH MURRAY / Gilly
IWAN RHEON / Ramsay Snow
SOPHIE TURNER / Sansa Stark
CARICE VAN HOUTEN / Melisandre
MAISIE WILLIAMS / Arya Stark
HOMELAND (Showtime)
F. MURRAY ABRAHAM / Dar Adal
SARITA CHOUDHURY / Mira Berenson
CLAIRE DANES / Carrie Mathison
RUPERT FRIEND / Peter Quinn
TRACY LETTS / Sen. Andrew Lockhart
DAMIAN LEWIS / Nicholas Brody
MANDY PATINKIN / Saul Berenson
MORGAN SAYLOR / Dana Brody
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
30 ROCK (NBC)
SCOTT ADSIT / Pete Hornberger
ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy
KATRINA BOWDEN / Cerie
KEVIN BROWN / Dot Com
GRIZZ CHAPMAN / Grizz
TINA FEY / Liz Lemon
JUDAH FRIEDLANDER / Frank Rossitano
JANE KRAKOWSKI / Jenna Maroney
JOHN LUTZ / Lutz
JAMES MARSDEN / Criss
JACK McBRAYER / Kenneth Parcell
TRACY MORGAN / Tracy Jordan
KEITH POWELL / Toofer
ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT (Netflix)
WILL ARNETT / George Oscar “G.O.B.” Bluth II
JASON BATEMAN / Michael Bluth
JOHN BEARD / Himself
MICHAEL CERA / George-Michael Bluth
DAVID CROSS / Tobias Fünke
PORTIA DE ROSSI / Lindsay Bluth Fünke
ISLA FISHER / Rebel Alley
TONY HALE / Buster Bluth
RON HOWARD / Narrator/Himself
LIZA MINNELLI / Lucille Austero
ALIA SHAWKAT / Maeby Fünke
JEFFREY TAMBOR / George Bluth, Sr./Oscar Bluth
JESSICA WALTER / Lucille Bluth
HENRY WINKLER / Barry Zuckerkorn
THE BIG BANG THEORY (CBS)
MAYIM BIALIK / Amy Farrah Fowler
KALEY CUOCO / Penny
JOHNNY GALECKI / Leonard Hofstadter
SIMON HELBERG / Howard Wolowitz
KUNAL NAYYAR / Rajesh Koothrappali
JIM PARSONS / Sheldon Cooper
MELISSA RAUCH / Bernadette Rostenkowski
MODERN FAMILY (ABC)
JULIE BOWEN / Claire Dunphy
TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy
AUBREY ANDERSON EMMONS / Lily Tucker-Pritchett
JESSE TYLER FERGUSON / Mitchell Pritchett
NOLAN GOULD / Luke Dunphy
SARAH HYLAND / Haley Dunphy
ED O’NEILL / Jay Pritchett
RICO RODRIGUEZ / Manny Delgado
ERIC STONESTREET / Cameron Tucker
SOFIA VERGARA / Gloria Delgado-Pritchett
ARIEL WINTER / Alex Dunphy
VEEP (HBO)
SUFE BRADSHAW / Sue Wilson
ANNA CHLUMSKY / Amy Brookheimer
GARY COLE / Kent Davidson
KEVIN DUNN / Ben Cafferty
TONY HALE / Gary Walsh
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS / Vice President Selina Meyer
REID SCOTT / Dan Egan
TIMOTHY SIMONS / Jonah Ryan
MATT WALSH / Mike McLintock
SAG AWARDS® HONORS FOR STUNT ENSEMBLES
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
ALL IS LOST (Lionsgate)
FAST & FURIOUS 6 (Universal Pictures)
LONE SURVIVOR (Universal Pictures)
RUSH (Universal Pictures)
THE WOLVERINE (20th Century Fox)
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series
BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO)
BREAKING BAD (AMC)
GAME OF THRONES (HBO)
HOMELAND (Showtime)
THE WALKING DEAD (AMC)
LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Screen Actors Guild 50th Annual Life Achievement Award
RITA MORENO ||||| The New York Film Critics Circle named "American Hustle" the best film of 2013, giving David O. Russell's fictionalized Abscam tale an early jolt in Hollywood's awards season.
This film image released by Sony Pictures shows Bradley Cooper, left, and Christian Bale in a scene from "American Hustle." The New York Film Critics Circle named “American Hustle” the best film of 2013,... (Associated Press)
The film was also awarded best supporting actress for Jennifer Lawrence and best screenplay for the script by Russell and Eric Singer. The film, which doesn't open in theaters until Dec. 13, is about a collection of FBI agents and con men that brought down high-profile politicians in and around New Jersey in the late 1970s.
Best actor went to Robert Redford for his near-wordless performance in the shipwreck drama "All Is Lost." Cate Blanchett won best actress for her leading role as a bitter, fallen socialite in Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine."
"12 Years of Slave" filmmaker Steve McQueen took best director for his adaptation of Solomon Northup's memoir about being abducted and sold into slavery in 19th-century Louisiana.
The critics group doesn't frequently predict Academy Awards winners. Last year, it chose Kathryn Bigelow's Osama bin Laden hunt docudrama "Zero Dark Thirty" as best picture, though the group was in line with Oscar voters in 2011 with "The Artist."
Many prognosticators consider the front-runners this year to be "12 Years a Slave" and the space adventure "Gravity," but early awards are finding anything but consensus. On Monday night, the Gotham Independent Awards chose the Coen brothers' early '60s folk music tale "Inside Llewyn Davis" as best film.
The New York critics named Bruno Delbonnel's photography for "Inside Llewyn Davis" best cinematography.
Best supporting actor went to Jared Leto for his performance as an HIV-afflicted transsexual in "Dallas Buyers Club."
Other awards included "Blue is the Warmest Color" for best foreign language picture, "Stories We Tell" for best non-fiction film, and "The Wind Rises" for best animated film.
The New York Film Critics Circle, a body of New York-based critics founded in 1935, announced their annual vote on Twitter. Awards will be handed out at a ceremony Jan. 6.
Award-giving continues Wednesday with the National Board of Review Awards. The Los Angeles Film Critics make their picks Sunday. Golden Globe nominations will be announced Dec. 12.
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Online:
New York Film Critics Circle: http://www.nyfcc.com/
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jake_coyle ||||| Steve McQueen's historic saga "12 Years a Slave," David O. Russell's con artist romp "American Hustle," Ryan Coogler's numbing "Fruitvale Station" and Alfonso Cuaron's space odyssey "Gravity" round out the American Film Institute's top-10 movies of the year.
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This photo released by Sony Pictures shows Christian Bale, left, as Irving Rosenfeld, Amy Adams as Sydney Prosser, and Bradley Cooper as Richie Dimaso walking down Lexington Avenue in a scene from Columbia... (Associated Press)
File- This undated file image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Joaquin Phoenix in a scene from "Her." The space odyssey “Gravity” and the futuristic romance “Her” have tied for best picture from... (Associated Press)
Also landing on the list, announced Monday: Paul Greengrass' Somali pirate drama "Captain Phillips"; Spike Jonze's futuristic computer love tale "Her"; Ethan and Joel Coen's folk scene-focused dark comedy "Inside Llewyn Davis"; John Lee Hancock's Disney comedy "Saving Mr. Banks"; and Martin Scorsese's provocative stockbroker story "The Wolf of Wall Street."
The AFI also selected the year's top-10 television shows. "Breaking Bad," "Game of Thrones," "House of Cards" and "Scandal" were among the favorites.
The creative assemblages will be awarded at a Jan. 10 luncheon in Los Angeles. ||||| The race to Oscar has officially begun, as the slavery exploration "12 Years a Slave" was nominated Tuesday for a leading seven Spirit Awards, which honor independent film.
This film image released by CBS FIlms shows, from left, Oscar Isaac, Justin Timberlake and Adam Driver in a scene from "Inside Llewyn Davis." The film was nominated for a Spirit Award for best feature... (Associated Press)
Octavia Spencer, left, and Paula Patton appear on stage at the Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations press conference at The W Hotel Hollywood on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2013, in Los Angeles. The Spirit... (Associated Press)
This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Will Forte as David Grant, left, and Bruce Dern as Woody Grant in a scene from the film "Nebraska," about a booze-addled father who makes to Nebraska with... (Associated Press)
This image released by Fox Searchlight shows Chiwetel Ejiofor in a scene from "12 Years A Slave." The film was nominated for a Spirit Award for best feature on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2013. The Spirit Awards... (Associated Press)
In this May 20, 2013 photo, from left, actor and writer, Ethan Hawke, actress and writer, Julie Delpy and director and writer, Richard Linklater, from the film "Before Midnight," pose for a portrait in... (Associated Press)
The Steve McQueen-directed drama is up for best feature, best director, best actor (Chiwetel Ejiofer), best supporting actress (Lupita Nyong'o), best supporting actor (Michael Fassbender), best screenplay (John Ridley) and best cinematography (Sean Bobbitt).
With six nominations, Alexander Payne's black-and-white comedy "Nebraska" is also in the running for best feature, best director, best actor for Bruce Dern, best supporting actress for June Squibb, best supporting actor for Will Forte and best first screenplay for Bob Nelson.
Other best-picture contenders include J.C. Chandor's near-wordless shipwreck drama "All is Lost," Noah Baumbach's New York tale "Frances Ha" and the Coen brothers' folk music story "Inside Llewyn Davis."
"All is Lost" also earned a best director slot for Chandor. Also up for best director are Jeff Nichols for the coming-of-age drama "Mud" and Shane Carruth for the sci-fi "Upstream Color."
Along with Ejiofor and Dern, the best male lead category includes Oscar Isaac for "Inside Llewyn Davis," Matthew McConaughey for "Dallas Buyers Club," Robert Redford for "All is Lost" and Michael B. Jordan for "Fruitvale Station."
Julie Delpy received two nominations, for best female lead and best screenplay for "Before Midnight," the third installment in the romantic drama series that kicked off with "Before Sunrise" in 1995. Delpy shares the best screenplay nomination with Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater, who co-wrote the script.
Among other best actress nominees are Cate Blanchett for "Blue Jasmine," Gaby Hoffmann for "Crystal Fairy," Brie Larson for "Short Term 12" and Shailene Woodley for "The Spectacular Now."
Accompanying Delpy in the best screenplay category is Woody Allen for "Blue Jasmine," Nicole Holofcener for "Enough Said" and Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber for "The Spectacular Now."
For his performance in the romantic comedy "Enough Said," James Gandolfini earned a posthumous nomination for best supporting male.
Though the Spirit Awards were begun to honor lower-budget films outside of Hollywood's mainstream, there is often overlap, and particularly so this year. Many of the 2013 Spirit nominees are expected to be strong Oscar contenders. Higher-budget studio releases like "Gravity" and "Captain Phillips" don't compete in the Spirit Awards, which are limited to films with a budget less than $20 million.
Last year, David O. Russell's "Silver Lining Playbook" swept the Spirit Awards, winning best feature, best director, best screenplay and best actress for Jennifer Lawrence.
Presented by the cinema group Film Independent, the Spirit Awards will be handed out the day before the Oscars at an afternoon ceremony along the beach in Santa Monica, Calif., on Mar. 1. The Spirit Awards will air that night on IFC.
Nominees were chosen by panels of film professionals. Members of Film Independent, including filmmakers and movie fans, are eligible to vote on the winners.
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Online : http://www.spiritawards.com
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Follow AP Film Writer Jessica Herndon on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/SomeKind ||||| The National Board of Review named the futuristic romance "Her" best film and Spike Jonze best director in its annual awards.
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Joaquin Phoenix in a scene from the Spike Jonze film, "Her." "Her" has been selected as the best film of the year by the National Board of Review. ... (Associated Press)
The honors announced Wednesday give Jonze's film some early support in an awards season that's shaping up to be unpredictable. The Warner Bros. film about a man (Joaquin Phoenix) who falls in love with a computer operating system (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) is to be released later in December.
Alexander Payne's father-son road trip "Nebraska" took two acting awards: Bruce Dern for best actor, and co-star Will Forte for best supporting actor.
Emma Thompson was awarded best actress for the "Mary Poppins" making-of story "Saving Mr. Banks." Best supporting actress went to Octavia Spencer for her performance in the day-in-a-life tale "Fruitvale Station."
The board also cited "Fruitvale Station" star Michael B. Jordan as breakthrough performance of the year, and the film's director, Ryan Coogler, for best directorial debut.
The annual run of film honors leading up to the Academy Awards has been particularly spread around so far. Though the space adventure "Gravity" and slavery epic "12 Years a Slave" are looked at as the front-runners, neither has yet yielded a best picture award.
The New York Film Critics Circle on Tuesday named David O. Russell's "American Hustle" best film. On Monday, the Gotham Independent Awards chose the Coen brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis."
Yet both "12 Years a Slave" and "American Hustle" were each shut out by the NBR's. "Gravity" earned an award for creative innovation in filmmaking.
The Coens' script for the folk musician tale was picked for best original screenplay by the board. Best adapted screenplay went to Terence Winter's script for Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street." The NBR's also gave its spotlight award to Scorsese and the film's star, Leonardo DiCaprio, for their long-running collaboration.
Additionally, the board honored "The Past" as best foreign language film, "The Wind Rises" as best animated film, and "Stories We Tell" as best documentary.
The National Board of Review, a group of film academics, students and professionals founded in 1909, is one of the first groups to announce its picks for the year's best movies. The Los Angeles Film Critics announce their choices on Sunday. The Golden Globe nominations come Dec. 12.
Last year, the board awarded Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" best film.
The awards will be handed out in a gala in New York on Jan. 7, to be hosted by "Good Morning America" anchor Lara Spencer.
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jake_coyle
|
– SAG Awards nominations have been announced, and leading the pack is 12 Years a Slave. The film received four nods: lead actor (Chiwetel Ejiofor), supporting actor (Michael Fassbender), supporting actress (Lupita Nyong’o), and the biggest trophy of all, cast ensemble (often a bellwether for Best Picture at the Oscars). Next up were August: Osage County, The Butler, and Dallas Buyers Club with three nominations each, including cast ensemble. The final nominee for cast ensemble: American Hustle. Winners will be announced Jan. 18; see Variety for the full list of nominations. It's definitely awards season. More recent news: 12 Years a Slave is also on the American Film Institute's list of the top 10 movies of the year. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association named two best pictures: Gravity and Her. But the New York Film Critics Circle went with American Hustle for best picture. Her was also named the year's best movie by the US National Board of Review. The Gotham Independent Film Awards gave the top honor to Inside Llewyn Davis. 12 Years a Slave was also nominated for a leading seven Spirit Awards.
|
NORTH OGDEN, Utah (AP) — The mayor of a Utah city was killed during an attack in Afghanistan while he was serving with the state's National Guard, the Salt Lake Tribune and other media reported.
North Ogden Mayor Brent Taylor died Saturday in an apparent "insider attack" in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, the Tribune reported. Another U.S. service member is being treated for wounds sustained in the attack, American military officials said.
The Utah National Guard has identified the service member killed as a member of the Guard. The Guard member's name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
But Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer J. Cox wrote on his Facebook page that Taylor, 39, has been killed.
"Devastating news. North Ogden Mayor Brent Taylor was killed today while serving in Afghanistan," Cox said. "I hate this. I'm struggling for words. I love Mayor Taylor, his amazing wife Jennie and his seven sweet kids. Utah weeps for them today. This war has once again cost us the best blood of a generation. We must rally around his family."
U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch issued a statement Saturday about Taylor's death on Twitter. "Brent was a hero, a patriot, a wonderful father, and a dear friend. News of his death in Afghanistan is devastating. My prayers and love are with Jennie and his 7 young children. His service will always be remembered," Hatch said.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert plans to hold a news conference on Sunday to discuss the death.
Taylor was deployed to Afghanistan in January with the Utah National Guard for what was expected to be a 12-month tour of duty. Taylor, an officer in the National Guard, previously served two tours in Iraq and one tour in Afghanistan.
At the time of his deployment in January, Taylor told local media that, as an intelligence officer, he will be assigned to serve on an advisory team training the staff of an Afghan commando battalion.
"Right now there is a need for my experience and skills to serve in our nation's long-lasting war in Afghanistan," he said. "President Trump has ordered an increase in troops, and part of the new strategy focuses on expanding the capabilities of the Afghan commando units."
Taylor became mayor of North Ogden, a city of about 17,000 people 46 miles north of Salt Lake City, in 2013.
The Tribune reported that on the day of his deployment in mid-January, North Ogden police escorted Taylor and his family around town as hundreds of residents lined the streets to see him off. ||||| After he got his orders in January to deploy to Afghanistan, North Ogden Mayor Brent Taylor went live on Facebook to tell his constituents he’d be gone and what to expect.
It was an easy choice for him, one that was months in the making, rooted in decisions he’d made years ago to serve God, his family and his country.
“While I am far from perfect in any of these respects,” he said, “I have given my life to serve all three of these loyalties whenever and however I can.”
The plan was to be gone one year. Family learned Saturday he'd never return.
Taylor was killed during an apparent insider attack early Saturday in Kabul. The attacker was immediately killed by Afghan Forces, according to NATO. The Utah National Guard hasn’t confirmed Taylor was killed in the attack, but Maj. Gen. Jefferson S. Burton, the adjutant general, in a news release, said: “My heart breaks for the loss and sacrifice of our soldier, particularly for the family. I wish them all the comfort and courage to face the difficult days ahead."
(Facebook) "My 'after mountain climbing' breakfast. Grapefruit, oatmeal, omelette, yogurts, boxed soymilk (we don't have the real stuff), juice, chili, and Cheerios. Gotta make those calories back up! P.S., my friends threw in all the salt and pepper packets to make fun of me for taking a picture of breakfast in the first place! " This photo was posted in a public Facebook group on Oct. 17, 2018, by North Ogden Mayor and National Guardsman Brent Taylor, who has been killed in Afghanistan.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said in a statement that he was heartbroken by Taylor’s death, calling the North Ogden mayor a “brave and selfless soldier."
“The entire Herbert family mourns with this soldier’s family and we pray that their burdens may be lifted, and that the hearts of all Utahns will reach out to comfort them in their grief,” Herbert said.
Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, echoed Herbert, writing on Facebook, “We lost a genuine hero and one of the best people in our state. We must rally around his sweet family.”
Taylor, a major with the Utah National Guard, deployed as part of an advisory team that trains members of an Afghan commando battalion. In his Facebook Live video announcing his deployment, Taylor said his service would help fulfill President Donald Trump’s order to increase troops and expand the capabilities of the Afghan units.
“Serving as the mayor of North Ogden city has been one of the greatest honors of my life and the highlight of my civilian professional career,” he said at the time. “Service is really what leadership is all about.“
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On the day of his deployment in mid-January, North Ogden police escorted Taylor and his family around town as hundreds of residents lined the streets to see him off.
“I think it proves what a great leader he is that he’s willing to sacrifice and leave his family to fight for his country. I think it’s really honorable,” Jeremiah Jones, deputy fire chief for North View Fire District, told ABC4 at the time.
North Ogden City Councilman Carl Turner said he was in shock Saturday after getting the news of Taylor’s death. Turner said he and Taylor would talk about the mayor’s mission in Afghanistan. Turner said Taylor would always tell him how fun it was.
“And he loved the people over there, and he loved working with them,” Turner said.
During his deployment, Taylor often posted about the Afghan soldiers he interacted with, saying he was inspired by their dedication to the cause.
“Things are going great here,” he wrote in June, “and I absolutely love working with the awesome soldiers of Afghanistan and my awesome U.S. colleagues.”
In his last Facebook post, written on Oct. 28, Taylor wrote about the recent Afghan election, saying: “The strong turnout, despite the attacks and challenges, was a success for the long-suffering people of Afghanistan and for the cause of human freedom. I am proud of the brave Afghan and U.S. soldiers I serve with. Many American, NATO allies, and Afghan troops have died to make moments like this possible; for example, my dear friend Lt. Kefayatullah who was killed fighting the Taliban the day before voting began.
“As the USA gets ready to vote in our own election next week, I hope everyone back home exercises their precious right to vote. And that whether the Republicans or the Democrats win, that we all remember that we have far more as Americans that unites us than divides us. ‘United we stand, divided we fall.’ God Bless America.”
Freedom: Millions Defy Taliban and Vote in Afghan Elections “The secret to happiness is freedom… And the secret to... Posted by Brent Taylor on Sunday, October 28, 2018
Taylor is survived by his wife, Jennie, and seven children. Taylor documented his deployment on Facebook, posting that through Skype he was able to watch his youngest daughter learn how to walk and that he missed his 15th wedding anniversary this year. On Sept. 18, he posted: “My rock star wife has been superwoman through birthing and raising seven children, and through four deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and over five total years of separation for military service.”
During a deployment to Iraq in 2007, Brent and Jennie Taylor led an effort called “Feed Uncle SAM,” which saw Jennie gather about $75,000 in care packages, toys, educational materials and humanitarian supplies in Utah. Then Taylor led 14 other Utah soldiers to the rural Iraqi villages of Qudeela and Ankawa to distribute the donations.
"I want you to know you put smiles on the faces of the Iraqi people today," Brent Taylor said in a statement to the Utahns who donated.
Jennie Taylor, at the time, said, “To see the good our soldiers are doing among the local Iraqi people reminds me why my husband and I ever decided he needed to go over there in the first place.”
Turner said when Taylor and his wife were first dating, they bonded over their shared love for the Constitution. He said Jennie Taylor was “over-the-top supportive" of her husband’s military service.
“That’s how they are. They’re God and country first,” Turner said. And that, he said, means they’re family-first, too.
North Ogden City Councilman Phillip Swanson said he’d just spoken with Taylor two days ago, and that he and Taylor’s friends and family are “all just heartbroken” over the news.
“He’s one of a kind, one of a kind both in his public service, his private life and in his political life," Swanson said. “We’ve lost a really good man.”
Swanson, who said he and Taylor had gotten close as “political crazies” in North Ogden over the past six years, said city officials are still trying to wrap their heads around the news, but are planning some kind of ceremony to honor Taylor. He said he’d have more information Monday.
Taylor was elected to the North Ogden City Council in 2009 and then as mayor in 2013. He was re-elected in 2017. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University in 2006, and went on to get a master’s degree from the University of Utah in 2012, according to his biography on the North Ogden city website.
He was also a vocal critic of the Utah Transit Authority, even as he served on the UTA board. Members of that board initially tried to block his appointment by the Weber Council of Governments, since his father is a train operator. State Auditor John Dougall disagreed that the conflict was disqualifying and Taylor took his seat. He then voted against UTA’s budget, the only member to do so. That UTA board has been disbanded, replaced with a new three-person board.
Before his death, Taylor served more than a decade in the U.S. Army National Guard, including seven years on active duty. He had served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, not including this most recent tour.
Taylor was the first Utah politician to take advantage of a law that allows elected officials to keep their position while deployed overseas, giving temporary control to someone else until they return. Mayor Brent Chugg had been serving in Taylor’s absence.
North Ogden city administrator and attorney Jon Call said Saturday that he’s not “exactly sure” what will happen to the mayor’s position. He said there are two options: Either Chugg stays in office, or he will automatically lose the position — since Chugg was essentially a placeholder for Taylor — and the council will appoint a new mayor until the next election in November 2019.
Since Taylor has been the only elected official in Utah to use the statute, Call said he’s not sure what will happen.
Without naming Taylor, the Utah National Guard said in a release that the soldier who was killed was a “trained professional, fully committed to the community, the country, and the mission.”
“The selflessness and sacrifice of our service members define the Utah National Guard. Our priority right now is to take care of the family, ensuring they have all the resources they need during this critical time,” the release said.
The last Utah National Guardsman killed in action was 27-year-old Staff Sgt. Aaron Butler. He died on Aug. 16, 2017 in an explosion while clearing buildings in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province.
Before Butler, two other Utah National Guardsman were killed in action in Afghanistan: Sgt. 1st Class James Thode in 2010 and 2nd Lt. Scott Lundell in 2006.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help support Jennie Taylor and her family. To donate, visit bit.ly/MayorTaylor.
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– The mayor of a Utah city was killed during an attack in Afghanistan while he was serving with the state's National Guard, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. North Ogden Mayor Brent Taylor died Saturday in an apparent "insider attack" in Kabul. Another US service member is being treated for wounds sustained in the attack, US military officials said. Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer J. Cox confirmed on Facebook that Taylor, 39, was killed, adds the AP. "Devastating news," Cox wrote. "I hate this. I'm struggling for words. I love Mayor Taylor, his amazing wife Jennie and his seven sweet kids. Utah weeps for them today. This war has once again cost us the best blood of a generation." Sen. Orrin Hatch tweeted that, "Brent was a hero, a patriot, a wonderful father, and a dear friend. News of his death in Afghanistan is devastating." Taylor was deployed to Afghanistan in January with the Utah National Guard for what was to be a 12-month tour of duty. Taylor, an officer in the National Guard, previously served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. At the time of his deployment, Taylor told local media that, as an intelligence officer, he will be assigned to serve on an advisory team training the staff of an Afghan commando battalion. "Right now there is a need for my experience and skills to serve in our nation's long-lasting war in Afghanistan," he said. "President Trump has ordered an increase in troops, and part of the new strategy focuses on expanding the capabilities of the Afghan commando units." Taylor became mayor of North Ogden, a city of about 17,000, in 2013. On the day of his deployment, North Ogden police escorted Taylor and his family around town as hundreds of residents lined the streets to see him off.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C. on Monday night was interrupted by left-wing protesters who heckled him and criticized his policies toward the Palestinians.
Protesters from the group Move Over AIPAC, at least some of whom say they are Jewish, stood up, held up banners and made statements criticizing Israeli defense policies.
Israeli officials traveling abroad continue to be accosted by young protesters confronting them over Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. Groups of Arab and Muslim students have disrupted speeches by Israeli officials on university campuses in the past, but recently some left-wing Jewish student groups have also joined the attacks.
Netanyahu's speech at the Jewish Federations General Assembly in New Orleans in November 2010 was marked by repeated heckling from Jewish students in the audience, protesting loyalty oath legislation and Israel's occupation of the West Bank, before being unceremoniously escorted away.
At the AIPAC conference on Monday, protesters used the same language that Netanyahu has used repeatedly in recent days and recontextualized it, inverting its intended meaning for political points. After Netanyahu told AIPAC that the borders that Israel occupied until the 1967 Six Day War are militarily "indefensible", protesters riffed on the word, using it in to mean unjustifiable.
One by one, activists sitting in the audience stood up and criticized Israel's policies towards the Palestinians, calling out, "Occupying Palestinian land is indefensible", "Starving Gaza is indefensible", "Bulldozing homes is indefensible", "Displacing refugees is indefensible" and "Silencing dissent is indefensible".
Ariel Vegosen, 30, one of the protesters, said in a statement, “As a young Jewish person it is important for me to stand up today and tell Netanyahu and AIPAC that their voices do not represent me.”
“I will not allow my faith to be misused as a weapon, covering up the theft of Palestinians’ homes and livelihoods," said Vegosen. "Judaism teaches me to stand up when I see oppression— discrimination is not a Jewish value and does not make Israel safer."
The hecklers were escorted out as other members of the audience cheered loudly. Netanyahu made light of the interruptions and asked, "Do you think they have these protests in Gaza?" implying that these protests of Israel ironically prove that Israel is a democracy that permits dissenting views, unlike the Hamas government.
Hecklers also booed as Netanyahu told the crowd that in Israel more than one million Muslims enjoy "full democratic rights," using this as testimony that Israel "and only Israel" can be trusted to ensure freedom for all faiths in a united capital of Jerusalem.
Netanyahu added that he "intends to speak the truth", to which another heckler yelled "denial!" before being escorted out by security.
In April, Kadima MK Avi Dichter was interrupted by protesters as he stood up to speak to an audience of hundreds of students at Brandeis University near Boston. Several students got up out of their seats and called Dichter, who was Director of the Shin Bet Security Service during the Second Intifada, a war criminal, both in English and Hebrew. ||||| Enlarge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves as he arrives May 23, 2011, to address the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference 2011 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech Monday that Israel must be mindful of its security and therefore cannot return to the 1967 borders.
"(A peace agreement) must leave Israel with security, and therefore Israel cannot return to the indefensible 1967 lines," he said in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel American lobby, as reported in CNN.
Netanyahu, speaking to the lobby after he had a testy meeting with President Obama Friday, acknowledged the "agony of war" but blamed the Palestinians for the inability to secure peace between the two sides.
"This conflict has raged for a nearly a century because the Palestinians refuse to end it. They refuse to accept the Jewish state," he said.
Palestinians have refused to restart stalled peace talks until the Israelis halt the settlement building in areas Palestinians hope will be their new state. The Israeli government, meanwhile, has criticized the Palestinian Authority for partnering with Hamas, a terrorist organization.
Obama raised the issue of borders in a major policy speech he gave last week, arguing that negotiations on final borders for the Jewish and Palestinian states must be based on the 1967 lines. This would mean Israel would have to give up land it captured in the Six Day War, notably east Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu, who reacted harshly to Obama's speech, promised to present his vision for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians when he gives a speech before a joint meeting of Congress Tuesday.
"I will outline a vision for a secure Israeli-Palestinian peace," he said, as reported by Reuters.
"I intend to speak the unvarnished truth. Now more than ever what we need is clarity."
The Israeli leader received a warm welcome at the AIPAC event, drawing cheers and standing ovations, the Washington Post reports. He is also likely to receive a warm greeting by members of Congress, where he has strong bipartisan support.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, an ally of Obama, said at Monday's dinner: “No one should set premature parameters about borders, about building or about anything else."
After his comment, the lights at the Washington Convention Center turned on and most of the crowd gave Reid a standing ovation, Politico reports.
The support by both the lobby group and Congress may remind Obama that he will have a tough political price to pay in the 2012 election if he pushes Netanyahu too hard on land swaps and settlement building, the Washington Post states.
In his own speech to AIPAC on Sunday, Obama stressed that the borders could be adjusted through mutually agreed upon land swaps.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/israel-and-palestine/110524/netanyahu-aipac-1967-borders
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– Benjamin Netanyahu stuck to his guns in a speech to AIPAC yesterday, vehemently rejecting President Obama’s call for a return to Israel’s pre-1967 borders. Any peace agreement “must leave Israel with security, and therefore Israel cannot return to the indefensible 1967 lines,” he told the pro-Israel lobby, according to the Global Post. He heaped blame on the Palestinians, saying, “This conflict has raged for nearly a century because the Palestinians refuse to end it.” His speech was interrupted multiple times by Code Pink protesters, who echoed Netanyahu’s words back at him, telling him that “Starving Gaza is indefensible” and “Silencing dissent is indefensible” and so forth, according to Haaretz. Some of the protesters said they were Jewish. “I will not allow my faith to be misused as a weapon,” one protester said. “Discrimination is not a Jewish value.” Netanyahu replied, “Do you think they have these protests in Gaza?” implying that it was Hamas silencing dissent.
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Social affairs minister warns it could mean that husbands sue wives who do not breastfeed
The United Arab Emirates has passed a law requiring mothers to breastfeed their children until they are two years old. The clause was added to a children's rights law, but the social affairs minister, Mariam al-Roumi, said it raised the prospect of husbands suing wives who did not breastfeed.
"This part of the law can be a burden," Roumi was quoted as saying by the Emirati newspaper the National. "If the law forced women to breastfeed, this could lead to new court cases."
The Dubai-based group Out of the Blues, which supports mothers with postnatal illness, warned that the law could criminalise women when they are at their most vulnerable. "We are concerned that enacting a law that leaves mothers facing potential punishment could be a step too far," the group said.
Members of the UAE's federal national council, which passed the law, suggested wet nurses should be provided for children whose mothers had died or could not feed them.
"This is the right of every child for two years," Sultan al-Sammahi said. "If they do not have a mother or have been neglected, then they should get this right from someone else."
Another member, Ahmad al-Shamsi, said the law aimed to make breastfeeding "a duty and not an option" for able mothers. "This is part of raising a child. This is mandatory," he said. "Laws are not all about fines and penalties – some are also humane."
The law says all government offices must provide a nursery so working mothers can breastfeed, an existing regulation that has never been enforced. ||||| ABU DHABI // The Federal National Council has passed a clause in the Child Rights law requiring mothers to breastfeed – despite concerns from a minister.
The council’s session on Tuesday continued a marathon debate on the legislation, during which the Minister of Social Affairs, Mariam Al Roumi, said such a law could lead to husbands suing their wives if they did not breastfeed.
"This part of the law can be a burden," she said. "If the law forced women to breastfeed, this could lead to new court cases."
Salem Al Ameri (Abu Dhabi) insisted that breastfeeding was a right for all children, as mentioned in Islam.
Dr Amal Al Qubaisi (Abu Dhabi) said that because labour laws already allow working women to take time to breastfeed, adding the requirement to the legislation showed consistency.
The clause was added to the law once it was passed to the council’s health, labour and social affairs committee for review.
Sultan Al Sammahi (Fujairah), a member of the committee, said it was the right of all children to be breast fed up to the age of 2.
It remains unclear how the law could be enforced, and Mr Al Sammahi suggested that if complications arose or mothers were neglecting their duties, they could be punished.
Ahmed Al Shamsi (Ajman) said the clause aimed to help nurture a strong relationship between a mother and her child.
He said the law’s intention was that breastfeeding should be a duty and not an option for able mothers.
Members also tried to add a number of rights for working women into the law but were refused by the minister.
The committee wanted a clause mandating the Government help working women to protect their children and to ensure all workplaces had a nursery, but Ms Al Roumi said this would be problematic because of the vagueness of the language.
"I am not against working women but there are seven laws on working women," she said. "We cannot talk about working women here and ignore stay-at-home mothers."
She reminded members that the law was on children’s rights and not the rights of mothers.
"The Government should not be held responsible for everything," Ms Al Roumi said. "This clause is too big and clashes with other laws."
Some members insisted on the article’s importance but others were happy for it to be removed.
The minister told members that a law on nurseries would be referred to them soon.
Since a decision was taken for nurseries to be built at federal and government entities, there had been a 360 per cent increase in them.
Members eventually agreed to remove the working women clause and to wait for the nurseries law.
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– Sure, the pope supports it, but a new clause added to a children's rights law in the United Arab Emirates doesn't just encourage mothers to breastfeed—it requires it until children are at least two years old, the Guardian reports. While those who passed the law late last month say breastfeeding is "the right of every child for two years" and "a duty and not an option," a support group for mothers with postnatal illness is disturbed. "The danger is that with the threat of punishment, these women could face additional stress at an already challenging time, risking serious repercussions and potentially contributing to postnatal depression," the group says. The country's social affairs minister is concerned, too, but for a very different reason. "This part of the law can be a burden," she says, noting husbands may be able to sue their wives if they don't breastfeed. How the law will be enforced, though, isn't clear. "Some families leave their children to maids and don't breastfeed. This is part of raising a child, though, this is mandatory," a member of the council that passed the law tells the National. "If they do not have a mother or have been neglected, then they should get this right from someone else"—perhaps a wet nurse.
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It appears the detente between Fox News and Donald Trump is over.
Last night, Trump blasted Megyn Kelly in a series of tweets and retweets, saying “perhaps she could take another eleven day unscheduled vacation.”
I liked The Kelly File much better without @megynkelly. Perhaps she could take another eleven day unscheduled vacation! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2015
He then retweeted another user who referred to Kelly as a “bimbo.”
"@mstanish53: @realDonaldTrump @megynkelly The bimbo back in town . I hope not for long ." — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2015
Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes fired back in a statement Tuesday, blasting the GOP front-runner’s “surprise and unprovoked attack on Megyn Kelly,” who he said “represents the very best of American journalism.” He also called on Trump to apologize.
Trump, in a response, said in a statement “I do not think Megyn Kelly is a quality journalist.” He added that he hoped that he “will be proven wrong and she will be able to elevate her standards to a level of professionalism that a network such as Fox deserves.”
Trump also cited his strong standing in the GOP race, including a poll out Tuesday showing him well ahead in South Carolina.
Fox commentator Sean Hannity also took Trump to task for his latest attacks on Kelly. In a tweet on Tuesday, he described Trump as “my friend,” but also called on the billionaire real estate developer to lay off Kelly.
My friend @realDonaldTrump has captured the imagination of many. Focus on Hillary, Putin, border, jobs, Iran China & leave @megynkelly alone — Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) August 25, 2015
The dispute between Fox News and Trump began following the opening GOP debate in Cleveland on Aug. 6. Trump complained that he’d been treated unfairly by Kelly when she asked him about his past comments on women. He told CNN the day after the debate: “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever.”
His comment sparked widespread criticism, including from Fox, though Trump denied he was referring to menstruation. In the days that followed, it seemed as if Trump and the network had mended fences, a truce that now appears to have been short-lived.
Here’s the full statement from Ailes:
Donald Trump’s surprise and unprovoked attack on Megyn Kelly during her show last night is as unacceptable as it is disturbing. Megyn Kelly represents the very best of American journalism and all of us at FOX News Channel reject the crude and irresponsible attempts to suggest otherwise. I could not be more proud of Megyn for her professionalism and class in the face of all of Mr. Trump’s verbal assaults. Her questioning of Mr. Trump at the debate was tough but fair, and I fully support her as she continues to ask the probing and challenging questions that all presidential candidates may find difficult to answer. Donald Trump rarely apologizes, although in this case, he should. We have never been deterred by politicians or anyone else attacking us for doing our job, much less allowed ourselves to be bullied by anyone and we’re certainly not going to start now. All of our journalists will continue to report in the fair and balanced way that has made FOX News Channel the number one news network in the industry.
And Trump’s full response, via Politico: ||||| Donald Trump is the Republican frontrunner for president, a fact that has befuddled just about everybody—except perhaps Trump himself—and spawned countless theories: He's leading because Americans are frustrated with politicians and want a straight-talking outsider. Because he shamelessly caters to paranoid conservatives. Because he's famous. He's not politically correct. He never says sorry. He's unfailingly entertaining. And the press can't resist him. But there's another reason that no one has considered yet, a secret weapon that has propelled past charismatic politicians like Bill Clinton and Theodore Roosevelt to the White House: hypomanic temperament.
To be clear, I’m not using my authority as a professor of psychiatry to call Trump mentally ill. Hypomanic temperament is not an illness. It is genetically linked to bipolar disorder and manifests the same traits as mania—but crucially, does so to a less severe and more functional degree. Historically, hypomanic temperament has received little attention compared to bipolar disorder, but the founders of modern psychiatry—Eugen Bleuler, Emil Kraepelin, Ernst Kretschmer—first described these personalities around a century ago. "Hypomanics," as I describe them in In Search of Bill Clinton: A Psychological Biography:
are whirlwinds of activity who are filled with energy and need little sleep, less than 6 hours. They are restless, impatient and easily bored, needing constant stimulation… and tend to dominate conversations. They are driven, ambitious and veritable forces of nature in pursuit of their goals. While these goals may appear grandiose to others, they are supremely confident of success—and no one can tell them otherwise…. They can be exuberant, charming, witty, gregarious but also arrogant…. They are impulsive in ways that show poor judgment, saying things off the top of their head, and acting on ideas and desires quickly, seemingly oblivious to potentially damaging consequences. They are risk takers who seem oblivious to how risky their behavior truly is. They have large libidos and often act out sexually. Indeed all of their appetites are heightened.
This description doesn't just match Clinton; it also sounds an awful lot like Trump. He reports, for example, “I usually sleep only four hours a night,” which by itself is usually a pretty reliable indicator of hypomania, and something he boasts about: “How can you compete against people like me if I sleep only four hours?” He claims to work seven days a week, and in a typical 18-hour day makes “over a hundred" phone calls and have “at least a dozen meetings.” “Without passion you don't have energy, without energy you have nothing!” Trump has tweeted. Hence his taunt of Jeb Bush as “a low energy person,” by contrast. Like most hypomanics, he is distractible. “Most successful people have very short attention spans. It has a lot to do with imagination,” he once wrote. He is correct. The same rapidity of thought that helps engender creativity makes it difficult to stay on one linear track of ideas without skipping to the next. Like most hypomanics, he follows his “vision, no matter how crazy or idiotic other people think it is.” Trump sees himself as a person of destiny and no one is going to talk him out of it. Trump's inflated self-esteem is illustrated by the fact that his net worth is reported by Forbes to be $4 billion, a fraction of the $10 billion he claims. It’s not just hyperbole: Hypomanics' wild optimism systematically distorts their perceptions.
Dripping with arrogance, Trump is an uber-aggressive alpha male who gleefully dominates, bullies, and colorfully disparages his competitors and critics. His hypomanic energy gives him that elusive charisma: Whether you love him or hate him (and charismatic figures produce such polarized responses) he makes himself the center of attention, the most exciting figure on the stage, who consumes all the oxygen in the room. But his impulsivity is manifested in his impolitic, unfiltered, outrageous statements, like his remark about Mexican immigrant "rapists." Many assume that one of these gaffes will ultimately bring him down, and they may be right. Leaders who live by their hypomania often die by it as well. ||||| CEASEFIRE OVER
The Donald renewed his verbal assault on Megyn Kelly last night, and the head of Fox News struck back for the first time in public, demanding an apology.
Donald Trump—self-avowed “ratings machine” though he might be—has finally gone too far for Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes.
The Republican presidential front-runner, who has spent the past day tweeting and re-tweeting nasty insults about Fox News star Megyn Kelly, owes her an apology, Ailes demanded in an extraordinary broadside against the reality-show billionaire, issued on Tuesday afternoon.
“Donald Trump’s surprise and unprovoked attack on Megyn Kelly during her show last night is as unacceptable as it is disturbing,” Ailes said about Trump, who has been a frequent interview guest on Fox & Friends, The O’Reilly Factor, Hannity, and other Fox News programs since the Republican presidential debate that Fox News broadcast on August 6 at which Kelly asked him a tough question about his history of calling women “fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals.”
Trump immediately fired back in a statement.
“I totally disagree with the FOX statement. I do not think Megyn Kelly is a quality journalist. I think her questioning of me, despite all of the polls saying I won the debate, was very unfair. Hopefully in the future I will be proven wrong and she will be able to elevate her standards to a level of professionalism that a network such as FOX deserves.”
Ailes issued his statement a little more than 12 hours after Trump’s angry tweet storm.
“Megyn Kelly represents the very best of American journalism and all of us at FOX News Channel reject the crude and irresponsible attempts to suggest otherwise,” Ailes continued, referring to a raging series of Trump tweets in which the candidate claimed Kelly was “off her game” on her first show after a 10-day vacation, and retweeted a crass assertion that the former Washington litigator is a “bimbo.”
Ailes, who scheduled The Kelly File at the all-important 9 p.m. prime-time slot, went on: “I could not be more proud of Megyn for her professionalism and class in the face of all of Mr. Trump’s verbal assaults. Her questioning of Mr. Trump at the debate was tough but fair, and I fully support her as she continues to ask the probing and challenging questions that all presidential candidates may find difficult to answer.
“Donald Trump rarely apologizes, although in this case, he should. We have never been deterred by politicians or anyone else attacking us for doing our job, much less allowed ourselves to be bullied by anyone and we’re certainly not going to start now. All of our journalists will continue to report in the fair and balanced way that has made FOX News Channel the number one news network in the industry.”
Ailes's verbal howitzer against the front-running Republican—a highly unusual deployment for any news organization, let alone one that has been the GOP establishment and home of conservative viewers—comes after what seemed a coordinated defense of Kelly by at least 10 other Fox News personalities today on Twitter and on air.
According to CNN’s Brian Stelter, the pro-Kelly comments included Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade opining on Tuesday’s show that Trump is “totally out of control”; The Five co-host Dana Perino tweeting, “The intelligence, class & grace of Megyn Kelly shined last night after her week's vacation with her family"; anchor Bret Baier, Kelly’s co-moderator at the debate, tweeting that Trump "has made his feelings clear. But THIS needs to stop;" and Sean Hannity tweeting to Trump, "Leave @Megynkelly Alone."
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– OK, now Donald Trump has gone too far: Though the Republican presidential candidate managed to remain on decent terms with Fox News after he first slammed Megyn Kelly, his latest remarks on the Fox host have apparently, finally, crossed the line as far as the network is concerned. Roger Ailes released a statement today, and he does not sound pleased. An excerpt, per USA Today: "Donald Trump’s surprise and unprovoked attack on Megyn Kelly during her show last night is as unacceptable as it is disturbing. Megyn Kelly represents the very best of American journalism and all of us at FOX News Channel reject the crude and irresponsible attempts to suggest otherwise. ... Donald Trump rarely apologizes, although in this case, he should." And Trump's quick response, per the Daily Beast: "I totally disagree with the FOX statement. I do not think Megyn Kelly is a quality journalist. I think her questioning of me, despite all of the polls saying I won the debate, was very unfair. Hopefully in the future I will be proven wrong and she will be able to elevate her standards to a level of professionalism that a network such as FOX deserves." For more Trump, see what "secret weapon" he has in common with Bill Clinton.
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