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fada9308a7f4e41419e858029ba0109b1f0dbfe0 | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A passenger sitting at the rear of the US Airways flight forced to land in the Hudson River testified Tuesday he climbed over about a dozen rows of seats as he tried to escape through the front of the floating plane. Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger testifies in Washington about landing in New York's Hudson River. Billy Campbell is the only passenger scheduled to testify before an aviation safety panel chaired by Robert Sumwalt, vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. Tuesday was the first of three days of hearings, which will try to determine the probable cause of the January 15 accident, he said. A final determination will be made by the entire NTSB board. "I am committed to an impartial and complete investigation of this accident," Sumwalt said at the opening. Also on the board are two deputy directors: John DeLisi from the Office of Aviation Safety and Joseph Kolly from the Office of Research and Engineering. The plane's pilot, Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, was forced to land the Airbus A320 after both of its engines failed. Officials almost immediately blamed it on birds, probably Canada geese, being sucked into the engines. Monday, Smithsonian Institution scientists said analysis of feathers found in the engines showed that at least three Canada geese were involved. All 155 people aboard were safely evacuated after the plane skidded to a stop in the river. Sullenberger, the hearing's first witness, recommended that training in water landings be mandatory for all pilots. Watch Sullenberger describe the river landing » . Campbell, who was in seat 25A, a window seat, was asked to detail what happened before and after landing. He testified he heard a loud explosion about three minutes after takeoff. The plane "shuddered," there was a smell of jet fuel, and the left engine was on fire, he said. One passenger tried to get something from an overhead bin but was ordered to sit down by a flight attendant. He hoped the plane would make it to an airport, but it became evident they were descending over the river. Watch as gripping plane audio is played during the hearing » . "Captain Sullenberger comes on and says brace for impact," Campbell said. "I knew we were going to crash into the river, because I was near the window." Campbell said that once the plane hit the river, water streamed in from his and other windows, and water from elsewhere began filling the aisle. He said he was unable to dislodge the life vest from under the seat. Flight attendant Doreen Welsh told passengers in the back that they could not go out the back door and ordered them to "turn around and go to the front." Campbell said he didn't know why the door wouldn't open. Once the plane struck the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey, "I think our biggest fear was how long would the plane stay afloat," Campbell said. When they landed, the pilot lifted the nose of the plane, and water poured into the aisles. "I did see the plane submerge; we were under water," Campbell said. "Then the plane bounced back but started to lift to the right." He said he didn't know the left engine was sheared off. He feared they would tip over. After being told he couldn't go out the back door, he began climbing over seats to reach the front. At one point, he helped a woman and child who were trying to flee. He, Sullenberger and the co-pilot got on a rubber raft, but it was tethered to the plane. A crew member from a rescue ferry threw them a knife so they could cut the cord, Campbell said. Campbell was asked whether he had read the safety card in the seat pocket in front of him, and he said he hadn't, because he flies so much. He said that when the pilot told everyone to "brace for impact," he knew what that meant because he'd seen the order in movies. "I think a lot of us are unclear about the definition of that term," he said. A technical panel providing expertise to the board includes Robert Benzon, hearing officer and investigator-in-charge of the crash. Also in the audience were representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration, the Air Line Pilots Association, the Association of Flight Attendants, US Airways, Airbus and CFM International. All were allowed to question the witnesses. | Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger was forced to land a plane in the Hudson River .
Canada geese got sucked into the two engines of the Airbus A320, disabling both .
All 155 people aboard were safely evacuated .
Water landings should be mandatory for all pilots, Sullenberger says . |
fada93e66f7dd25dc790564cbfcb0aab4dacbcff | By . Mail Foreign Service . PUBLISHED: . 09:03 EST, 13 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:31 EST, 14 March 2013 . A judge has granted bail to a slaughterhouse worker accused of assault on condition he does not drink any more Red Bull . A man who appeared before a Belgian court on an assault charge has been granted bail - on condition he doesn't drink any more Red Bull. The court in Bruges banned the 56-year-old slaughterhouse worker from consuming the energy drink after hearing how he went berserk with two knives, a starting pistol and a lead pipe after drinking cans of Red Bull. First he hammered on the door of his former boss- who refused to open - and then he had an accident while driving his car. The court was told he beat up the other driver and injured two policemen, who tried to arrest him. They were treated in hospital. The Red Bull fan spent two months in pre-trial custody before appearing in court to ask for bail. His lawyer, Mathieu Langerock said his client had forgotten to take his tranquillisers before he began downing cans of Red Bull. 'That was the reason why he became so worked up,' said Mr Langerock. 'I think the decision to ban him from this particular drink is remarkable because the judge didn't say anything about not consuming alcohol. 'The ban will remain in force until the trial.' A spokesman for Red Bull said: 'The drink can be bought in 164 countries and all health organisations agree that it can be consumed in complete safety.' But Jan Tytgat, a toxicologist at Leuven University, claimed that an overdose of Red Bull combined with l alcohol could lead to aggressive behaviour. The man spent two months in pre-trial custody before appearing at court in Bruges, pictured, to ask for bail . | The slaughterhouse worker accused of assault has been granted bail .
His lawyer said client forgot to take tranquillisers and downed Red Bull .
Is accused of using knives, a starting pistol and lead pipe during rampage .
Judge in Bruges court granted bail as long as he does not drink Red Bull . |
fadad45a62519c2e3a06e66f6a45b20cf684f7ce | By . Hugo Gye . PUBLISHED: . 12:32 EST, 19 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 15:06 EST, 19 March 2014 . George Osborne today insisted that Britain was recovering from the after-effects of the recession - and he seems to have bounced back from his own personal recession too. Observers noted that the Chancellor's hair appeared thicker than on Budget day last year, with his bald spot less obvious than it previously was. The 42-year-old is also said to have slimmed down over the past year after taking up the '5:2 Diet', cutting his calorie intake to just 500 on two days of the week. Spot the difference: George Osborne's hair appeared thinner last year, left, than it did this year, right . Slimmed down: After taking up the 5:2 diet, cutting his calorie intake to 500 for two days a week, the Chancellor has a new svelte figure to accompany his newly-full head of hair . Mr Osborne delivered a relentlessly upbeat message during today's Budget, as he announced a series of giveaways to voters a year before the next general election. However, some people were more focussed on the Chancellor's appearance than his message, pointing out the visible transformation he has undergone in recent months. Rich Morgan tweeted: 'What's going on with George Osborne's hair, it kind of looks like he's doing a big old comb-forward.' Nicola Borasinski added: 'George Osborne's hair is fooling no-one. Definitely a dye job, possibly even a toupee.' Style: The Chancellor abandoned his old hairstyle, left, in favour of a more youthful-looking cut, right . Diet: Mr Osborne adopted a new diet and fitness regime in a bid to shed the pounds . One website speculated that Mr Osborne could have started dying his hair or even undergone a hair transplant. However, others suggested that he had simply mastered the favourite trick of many middle-aged men and managed to comb his hair to make it appear thicker in strategic places. Last year he radically changed his hairstyle, adopting a 'layered' look which was widely thought to be an attempt to look younger. Tucking in: Last year, he was pictured with a Byron burger, chips and fizzy drinks to get through the Budget . Despite regular runs, he remained rotund - until taking up his new regime this year . Viewers took to Twitter to comment on the Chancellor's new, sharp look on The Andrew Marr Show last Sunday . Mr Osborne is also believed to have lost several pounds since adopting the 5:2 Diet, which involves two days of 'fasting' every week. On the popular diet, which has also . been taken up by Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, followers 'fast' for two . non-consecutive days, and eat normally for the remaining five. After six weeks, they can lose up to a stone, it is claimed. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is said to be experimenting with alternatives to dairy, and Education Secretary Michael Gove has shifted two stone at a £2,500 'fat farm' retreat in Austria. But the Chancellor's personal austerity was not matched by his announcements in today's Budget, when he cut the price of beer and lowered the tax on bingo. | George Osborne's hair is looking thicker than this time last year .
He adopted a new haircut in an apparent bid to appear more youthful .
Chancellor has also started following the 5:2 Diet in order to slim down . |
fadb212619b28a8f51767322001dd0e40dd87d6c | In 2016, we need to elect a president who has the experience to hit the ground running on day one. We need someone who has walked the walk, not just talked the talk. We need someone who is extremely competent, extremely intelligent and extremely dedicated to the men, women and children of this country. We need someone who personally knows world leaders and understands the threats and challenges facing America. We need someone who understands what middle-class families have been going through and how to give every family a fair shot to get ahead in life. Our next president needs to be someone who knows without debate that equal pay for equal work and the full participation of women in our country is not only the right thing for them and their families, it's critical for the economic future of America. We need President Hillary Clinton. That's why I am honored to formally announce my renewed and unreserved support for Clinton as she considers a 2016 presidential bid. I'm ready for Clinton because she is the best person to take on the challenges that face our country, and she has more than enough qualifications, achievements and experience to do the job. While Clinton and I came to the Senate at the same time after the 2000 elections, I have known her for more than 30 years. I first met Clinton when I was serving in the Michigan State House of Representatives and she was serving as first lady of Arkansas and working as an attorney. We were both speaking on a panel at a national conference on children's issues in Detroit. I had just passed one of the first child abuse prevention trust funds in the country and Clinton was serving on the board of directors of the Children's Defense Fund. That event was certainly an apt place to meet Clinton. For so many years before that and for the decades since, fighting on behalf of children and families has been a cornerstone of Clinton's career. GOP tries to define Clinton for young voters . I was in the room when then-first lady Clinton courageously spoke in China at the Fourth World Conference on Women and reminded the world that "women's rights are human rights." I will never forget the power of that speech. Shortly thereafter, I was motivated to run for the U.S. House of Representatives. Clinton continued to speak up on behalf of women and girls around the world as secretary of state. And since passing the baton at the State Department to Secretary John Kerry, she has once again made the fight for quality, universal early childhood education one of her signatures issues. The issues that will dominate the 2016 election are issues that Clinton has been a leader on for years. She has been a champion for middle-class families and for those working hard to get into the middle class. She voted time and again to raise the minimum wage so people working full time would not find themselves still in poverty. She wrote the Student Borrower Bill of Rights and fought for lowering student loan rates by ending giveaways to the big banks. And of course she has fought tirelessly to give all Americans, especially children, the security of quality, affordable health care. As president, Hillary Clinton will fight for our values day in and day out. I also know Clinton is practical and pragmatic. She understands how to get things done. I saw it in her that day in Detroit so many years ago, watched her help accomplish great things like the Children's Health Insurance Program as first lady, worked with her here in the Senate to increase the minimum wage, and continued to be inspired by the grit, determination and old-fashioned hard work she put in across six continents and 956,733 miles as secretary of state. As secretary of state, Clinton stood up for America and stood strong against our enemies. As president, she will stand up for all Americans and stand strong against those who want to rig our political system for their own gain. When America chooses its next president, we need someone who understands that people across this country are working hard and just want a fair shot to get ahead in life. I know that Clinton understands this because that's the America she has been fighting for all her life. That is why I am ready for Hillary Clinton -- and why America is, too. Join us on Facebook.com/CNNOpinion. | Sen. Debbie Stabenow says she supports Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 .
Stabenow: I'm ready for Hillary because she is the best person for our country right now .
Clinton has been considered a Democratic front-runner if she enters the presidential race . |
fadbb54b7e13a624a268db17ee33b2f0570e8ee6 | On December 10 last year a huge crowd rallied in Moscow. The people were fired up about alleged election fraud and fed up with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. It was unprecedented in the country's post-Soviet history. Unthinkable in Putin's Russia. It inspired predictions of a Russian Winter to rival the Arab Spring. Now three months, and several huge opposition rallies later, Putin looks certain to be elected president again. So what happened? The big protests were ultimately triggered by claims that widespread cheating boosted the results for Putin's United Russia party in December's parliamentary election -- claims the Kremlin denied. But there were other factors. Putin's announcement three months earlier that he would bump Dmitry Medvedev and seek the presidency again for himself was a key moment. It wasn't a total surprise. Many had long suspected that Medvedev was just a seat warmer, helping the real boss work around the constitution and its limit of two consecutive presidential terms. But there was also hope Medvedev, who is considered a reformer, would find the fire in his belly to openly fight for the top job. It was a naive hope. The brazen admission of their private deal was like an open hand slap to the face -- a stinging reminder of who really has the power. Suddenly Russians were confronted with the possibility of 12 more years of Vladimir Putin's rule. Many of the people most appalled by that idea have done well under Putin. They're educated, well traveled and economically comfortable. For Russia's new middle class the authoritarian stability of the Putin years has brought prosperity. But it's no longer enough. Now they want their vote to count and they want to use it to get rid of Putin. "The most educated, the most responsible part of Russian society has come together to deliver a single message," one first-time protester told me. "The current government has no right to represent Russian society. They don't say what we want to say. They don't take actions we want to take." So says the urban middle class. But they don't speak for the country. "It's pure mathematics," says Putin's spokesperson Dimitri Peskov. "Yes we have something like 70,000 people out there [protesting] on Sakharov Avenue but at the same time we have to keep in mind they are a minority. The majority of the population does not live here in Moscow. We have a huge country and if we look eastwards we'll see lots and lots of big cities, small towns and rural populations that still support Putin pretty well." There's another important reason why Putin appears set to win. There's no obvious alternative. Putin's closest electoral competitor is the Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov -- a serial election loser. This would be his fourth defeat. Two other candidates, right-wing table thumper Vladimir Zhirinovsky and left-leaning Sergey Mironov have also run and lost spectacularly in the past. Billionaire businessman Mikhail Prokhorov is the only fresh face in the pack. On paper, his manifesto of democratic and economic reforms should appeal to many of Moscow's protesters. But he's struggling to shake off his reputation for being too close to the regime. Cynics call him a Kremlin project, a candidate designed to credibly attract the middle class vote without posing a genuine threat. Prokhorov's repeated denials and slick campaign have not seen his polling move beyond single figure territory. The line-up of wannabe presidents is said to be another example of what's known here as "managed democracy" where opposition candidates and parties are tolerated but only if they know their place. Critics describe it as the illusion of democracy. While Vladimir Putin's victory seems assured, we don't know what it will look like. Will there be more allegations of fraud? Will he win comfortably? Or will he get less than 50% of the vote and be forced into a runoff with the second place candidate? The last scenario appears increasingly unlikely but it's what leaders of the opposition movement are desperately hoping for. It would be a clear sign Putin's support is eroding as well as an opportunity to weaken him further. But however he wins, the next Russian president can expect continued public dissent. "We want to see new elections," says leading opposition figure Alexei Navalny. "Vladimir Putin won't win on March 4. He will appoint himself as tsar. He'll try to remain Russian president for the rest of his life. We need to fight and stop him from wrongly taking power. Our goal is to keep pressure on Putin." In light of that intent, the answer to one question will sharply define Russia's immediate future: How would President Putin respond to further challenges to his authority? Vladimir Putin remains a sure bet for the presidential election. Beyond that there's only one other certainty. He'll be leader of a country that has changed dramatically in the last three months. | Russians are confronted with the possibility of 12 more years of Vladimir Putin's rule .
Putin's closest electoral competitor is the Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov .
Prokhorov's slick campaign has not seen his polling move beyond single figure territory .
A second round of voting looks increasingly unlikely . |
fadcae5f00018ad1e1c66f01280ba207a8f3ead2 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 04:55 EST, 23 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:06 EST, 23 August 2013 . Disgraced Cardinal Keith O'Brien refused to allow his archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh to participate . Shamed Cardinal Keith O’Brien personally blocked an inquiry into sex abuse in the Catholic Church in Scotland less than a year ago. The probe had been agreed by the most senior members of the Church hierarchy. It would have examined all abuse cases on file on behalf of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland. The hierarchy planned to publish the results of the investigation, but the then president of the Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal O’Brien, who resigned earlier this year after admitting sexual misconduct, objected. He refused to allow his archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh to participate, forcing the project to be scrapped. The disclosure has been confirmed by the recently retired Archbishop of Glasgow, Mario Conti. He said: ‘It was the intention of all but one member of the Bishops’ Conference to commission an independent examination of the historical cases we had on file in all of our respective dioceses and publish the result. ‘This was delayed by the objection of the then president of the conference. Without full participation of all the dioceses, the exercise would have been faulty.’ But now the inquiry is expected to be reopened, according to Archbishop Emeritus Conti. In a letter to Catholic newspaper The Tablet, which has been critical of the way the Church in Scotland has dealt with caring for the victims of sexual abuse, he said: ‘I understand that, in the light of the criticisms the Church has been facing, these audits will now be published. ‘I think they will go some way towards confirming that the percentage of priests involved in abuse is tiny, and demonstrating the seriousness and competence with which the Church in Scotland has been dealing with safeguarding in all its implications for many years.’ The letter is an unprecedented break with tradition, which dictates that discussions at the Bishops’ Conference remain confidential. A source said: ‘This clearly shows the full extent of the malignant influence that Cardinal O’Brien had on the Church up until a few months before he was exposed. Archbishop Mario Conti revealed it was O'Brien who blocked the probe . ‘What we are now seeing is a remarkable and candid revelation about the inner workings of the hierarchy which are normally never revealed. ‘There are those who have defended the Cardinal over what they try to characterise as drunken fumblings dating back decades. ‘That is very remote from the truth. By his own admissions, his misconduct continued while he held the highest office.’ Another source said: ‘Given what we now know, some people are likely to speculate about why he blocked the investigation. Who knows what his successor might find? ‘He has done enormous damage to the Church. Those left behind are still continuing to deal with the fall-out. ‘There was a will and a willingness among the bishops to dig into the past and be as transparent as possible, but that was stopped by the Cardinal. Now the way is open to make progress and continue the independent analysis originally planned.’ Earlier this week, Cardinal O’Brien received a major snub when his successor at St Andrews and Edinburgh, Monsignor Leo Cushley, disclosed that he would not be among the three bishops who will act as consecrators at his installation next month. It is customary for the outgoing archbishop to be chosen. A source said: ‘This shows the depth of feeling against the Cardinal.’ The Catholic Church of Scotland office has been contacted by the Mail Online. | Sex abuse probe had been agreed by most senior members of Church .
Stopped archdiocese participating in investigation, forcing it to be scrapped . |
fadcb9abe201b4cbde9ee8dc28a82ebac2a8306c | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 19:02 EST, 11 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:23 EST, 11 March 2013 . Alan Bennett said being touched on his legs by older men when he was a child did not bother him . Alan Bennett has revealed he was ‘touched up by old gentlemen’ as a young boy – but claims it didn’t bother him. The 78-year-old playwright and author said the incidents happened when he was about ten or 12, and never went any further. In Bennett’s acclaimed play The History Boys, English teacher Hector is known to fondle some of his pupils while driving them home on his motorbike. But the character is portrayed sympathetically and the 17-year-old students tolerate his advances. It now seems Bennett may have been drawing on his own experiences. He told the Radio Times: ‘When I was young, ten or 12, one often found one’s legs were touched up by old gentlemen, in a mild sort of way. ‘It never got beyond that. I remember thinking, “Oh God, here we go again”. But it didn’t bother me. I knew it was wrong, but I shouldn’t say anything about it because I knew they would get into trouble. ‘But the notion that one would be scarred for life…’ In his short autobiographical play Cocktail Sticks, which was first shown last year, Bennett revealed he was once ‘interfered with’ in a Leeds cinema by an adult male customer. But in the Radio Times interview Bennett played the episode down, saying it was ‘in a mild way’. In Bennett's play The History Boys . the character Hector fondles pupils in his class as he drives them home on a motorbike . He also talked about a recent appearance at the National Theatre, when he was asked whether he had considered rewriting The History Boys in the wake of the Jimmy Savile sex-abuse scandal. He said: ‘I just said no. It’s a ridiculous idea that I might rewrite it and I said so, kindly. It was never on the cards.’ Bennett lives in London with his long-term partner, magazine editor Rupert Thomas, 46. | Alan Bennett recalls thinking 'Here we go again' when touched as a child .
He dismissed rewriting plot of The History Boys post-Savile as 'ridiculous' |
faddd209a77b8ce0a1aabb94b11054a9d1b4b3a8 | Britain's most senior civil servant has been lavishly wined and dined by energy chiefs and bankers. Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood last year accepted hospitality from a series of bosses of major firms, calling into question his supposed neutrality. As well as expensive dinners, he enjoyed trips to the opera, music recitals and private gallery visits. Sir Jeremy Heywood, one of Britain's top civil servants, seen here inside Number Ten, has been lavishly wined and dined by energy chiefs and bankers . Many of those with whom he dined, including energy firm Centrica and bankers Goldman Sachs, are directly affected by government policy. The civil servant – dubbed Sir Cover-up after preventing the Iraq War inquiry from seeing messages between Tony Blair and George W Bush – also met people from a company set up by bankers from Morgan Stanley, where he used to work. The meetings, reported in Private Eye, will cause concern that such businesses have too much influence among unelected mandarins in the corridors of power. As the head of the civil service, Sir Jeremy is supposed to be scrupulously neutral. Critics will say it should be politicians – not Whitehall mandarins – meeting such figures. Sir Jeremy was dubbed Sir Cover-up after preventing the Iraq War inquiry from seeing messages between Tony Blair and George W Bush . Labour has promised a freeze on energy bills and has accused the Government of not being hard enough on the Big Six firms. Revelations that Sir Jeremy met with Centrica will only add to such accusations. In addition, the Government opposed European calls for a crackdown on bankers’ bonuses and the way the City operates – at a time when Sir Jeremy was meeting investment bankers and City lobbyists. Last night Labour’s John Mann, of the Treasury select committee, said: ‘He would be better off meeting British lorry drivers in Calais, patients waiting for operations and victims of crime. It’s all too cosy at the top of government.’ Labour’s John Mann, of the Treasury select committee, said Sir Jeremy 'would be better off meeting British lorry drivers in Calais, patients waiting for operations and victims of crime' Sir Jeremy is seen as David Cameron’s right-hand man, making sure policies get through, and was Tony Blair’s Principal Private Secretary from 1999 to 2003. In May, it emerged Sir Jeremy had vetoed the release to the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War of letters and records of phone calls between Tony Blair and George W Bush. Dinner and music recital with energy firm Centrica . Dinner with the Financial Times . Dinner with bankers Goldman Sachs . Dinner and private viewing at the Tate with PR firm Finsbury . Dinner with Lloyds Banking . Dinner with The City UK lobbyists . Refreshments, opera and dinner with bankers Robertson Robey . Dinner with management consultancy McKinsey – where his wife is a director . Dinner with Robertson Robey . Refreshments and private viewing of Manet at the Royal Academy with PR firm Brunswick . Dinner with the CBI . Contents of 150 messages – thought to reveal why Mr Blair dragged Britain into war – will be censored from the £10million inquiry, thanks to a backroom deal by Sir Jeremy. The latest official registers show that he is a prolific junketeer, happy to dine with powerful firms with a direct stake in government policy. They reveal he enjoyed a dinner and music recital from Centrica, which owns British Gas – one of the firms lobbying against government efforts to clamp down on fuel bills. From Goldman Sachs Sir Jeremy accepted dinner, despite the fact HMRC was accused of letting the bank off over millions of pounds in tax thanks to a ‘sweetheart deal’. He and wife Suzanne were treated to ‘refreshments, opera and dinner’ by Robertson Robey, an investment banking firm set up by bankers from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Sir Jeremy also went to the annual dinner of management consultancy McKinsey – where Mrs Heywood is a director. A Cabinet Office spokesman said Sir Jeremy ‘acts at all times in compliance with the Civil Service Code’, adding: [He] meets a wide range of external contacts in the course of doing his job … Occasionally he attends breakfasts, lunches or dinners which are typically working occasions or charitable events.’ | Sir Jeremy enjoyed expensive dinners, trips to the opera and music recitals .
He met with energy firm Centrica and bankers from Goldman Sachs .
Was dubbed Sir Cover-up over preventing Iraq war inquiry from seeing files . |
fadddb1d098f8c6b2826ba55d358983e4b3ba794 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . We may feel like we are in our peak in our twenties – but scientists believe our brains start going downhill after the age of 24. Researchers used computer games as a way of testing our ability to process information and react to it – known as ‘cognitive motor skills’. The study involved more than 3,300 people aged 16 to 44 playing a space battle and trading game called StarCraft II. According to new research, the human brain may start to decline at the age of just 24 . In the game, players can buy and sell spaceships, upgrade their weapons and trade with or wage war on fellow players. The study revealed a link between age and being slower at the game. Researchers said that those over the age of 24 tended to perform less well. Lead author Joe Thompson, a PhD student from Simon Fraser University in Canada, said: ‘After around 24 years of age, players show slowing in a measure of cognitive speed that is known to be important for performance. Although older players are less able to react quickly, researchers say cognitive motor capacities change throughout adulthood . ‘This cognitive performance decline is present even at higher levels of skill.’ Although older players are less able to react quickly, they do have some advantages on their younger competitors. ‘Our research tells a new story about human development,’ said Mr Thompson. ‘Older players, though slower, seem to compensate by employing simpler strategies and using the game’s interface more efficiently than younger players, enabling them to retain their skill, despite cognitive motor-speed loss.’ He said older players, for example, are better at using keyboard shortcuts to help them make up for declining speed. And there is some hope for those of us over the age of 24 as Mr Thompson said that our cognitive motor capacities change throughout adulthood. ‘They are constantly in flux and our day-to-day performance is a result of the constant interplay between change and adaptation,’ he added. The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE. | Researchers in Canada used computer games to test cognitive motor skills .
Those over 24 tended to perform less well revealing link between age and speed .
But older players were better at employing new strategies such as shortcuts .
Back to Mail Online home .
Back to the page you came from . |
fade396e2a2409be906591fd91a8202fc8a9d9e2 | By . Sophie Jane Evans . Eight children and three adults have drowned after an overloaded kindergarten bus crashed into a pond in China. The bus, which had only seven seats, was returning the children home through a mountainous village in the southern Hunan province yesterday when it swerved off the road, state media said. It plunged into the water, killing all 11 people onboard, including two teachers and the driver. Crash: Eight children and three adults drowned when this kindergarten bus crashed into a pond in China . The van was pulled out of the pond early today with the children and a driver inside, according to Xinhua News Agency. The bodies of the teachers were recovered an hour later. The school bus is believed to have been travelling on a narrow dirt road with no barrier in Ganzi Village, near the province's capital of Changsha, when it crashed. One of the victim's fathers told the agency that kindergarten buses in the region are often overloaded. Rescue: The bus, which had only seven seats, was returning the children home through a mountainous village in Hunan province yesterday when it swerved off the road. Above, rescuers pull the van out of the water . Recovery: Divers fasten a rope to the bus (left) as they prepare to haul it out of the pond as another helps (right) It is the latest in a series of accidents involving school buses in China, where overcrowding on transport is said to be common. In April, eight children died after a school minivan crashed on China's southern island province of Hainan. And two years ago, 19 children died when a makeshift kindergarten bus collided head-on with a truck. Disaster: The van was pulled out of the pond early today with the children and a driver inside, state media said . Back on dry land: The bus is believed to have been travelling on a narrow dirt road with no barrier in Ganzi Village, near the province's capital of Changsha, when it crashed. Above, it is hauled out of the pond via crane . The bus had been converted from a nine-seat freight van, but was carrying 64 people at the time of the accident. The crash prompted a nationwide outcry about school bus safety in rural China, where there is a shortage of education funds and children are often forced to travel far to get an education because of school closures. An investigation into the latest incident is currently underway. Emergency response: The fatal crash is the latest in a series of accidents involving school transport in China . | Bus, which had only seven seats, was carrying 11 people in Hunan province .
Swerved off road as it travelled through rural village and plunged into pond .
Eight children, two teachers and driver were killed in the crash yesterday .
One victim's father said it was common for school buses to be overcrowded .
It is the latest in a series of accidents involving school transport in China . |
fadefc3c57240afdbf16ac95b7484ab5ecd4bdec | A One Direction fan reportedly killed her pet Chihuahua in a fit of rage because the British boy band did not respond to requests to follow her on Twitter. The woman sent a desperate tweet to the five singers from her @illumivato account two weeks ago saying: 'Follow me or I'll break my dog's neck'. The post was accompanied by a picture showing someone pinning a dog to the ground by its throat. Sick: A montage of images from the Twitter account of a One Direction fan claiming to break her dog's neck after the band did not respond to her plea to follow her . But with millions of tweets being sent to their account everyday, the group very likely did not spot the message and it went ignored. Several days later, she wrote directly to band member Liam Payne on the social networking site to say: 'I love you. Follow me. My dog has just died.' She added a picture that she claimed showed her crying as she cradled a dead dog, it was reported by the New York Daily News. Adored across the world: With millions of tweets being sent to their account everyday, the One Direction singers very likely did not spot the message and it went ignored . It was all later revealed to be a sick hoax. MailOnline discovered the picture of the girl with the dead dog was first posted onto the internet in June - two months before she claims to have threatened to kill it: . Other Images that were reportedly taken from the @illumivato page before it . was suspended show animals in blenders and a small child tied up. Each comes with similar messages threatening to kill them if the boy band didn't follow her on Twitter. Fans of the band, known as . 'Directioners', branded her a 'psycho', with one setting up a petition . on Change.org demanding she be imprisoned which now has around 3,000 signatures. Troll: Some other images reportedly taken from the @illumivato page show animals in blenders and a young child tied up with messages threatening to kill them if One Direction didn't follow her on Twitter . Mya Fhya, who set up the petition, said: 'This person needs to burn in hell and I want to see justice.' The . case has been widely reported by the Spanish and South American media, . but the woman's name and location have not been revealed. One Direction has not yet commented on the incident. | Message came with image of dog being pinned to the floor by its throat .
When band did not respond, she posted picture of 'her with dead dog'
Other images reportedly from her site show animals in blenders and a small child tied up with similar threats to kill them .
1D fans brand her a 'psycho' but it was revealed to be a hoax . |
fadf8c64d2a494f8e12f8532ac45344c34ce7eb0 | By . James Salmon . PUBLISHED: . 19:42 EST, 7 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 19:42 EST, 7 February 2014 . The Bank of England has been rocked by allegations it turned a blind eye as traders rigged foreign currency rates. Traders at some of the world’s biggest banks have claimed they told officials in 2012 that they routinely shared sensitive information about currency orders from customers with rivals, which could be used to fix their bets. Last night Conservative and MPs called for an inquiry into the ‘extremely serious’ allegations. Notes of the meeting in April 2012 between two officials from Threadneedle Street and currency dealers have already been handed to City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority. Revelation: The Bank of England is alleged to have known about rigging of foreign currency rates . It is alleged that when confronted with the evidence the Bank of England officials said they had no policy on the practice of sharing foreign currency information and that banks should make their own rules. Accusations that officials failed to raise the alarm or even condoned the practice are highly damaging for the Bank of England, and come in the midst of a worldwide probe into whether banks rigged the £3 trillion a day foreign currency market. The sprawling investigation kicked off last year after revelations from whistleblowers from a number of banks. Those under the spotlight include Barclays, Lloyds and Royal Bank and Scotland - which at least twenty bank traders thought to have been fired or suspended. Two of those traders, one from Citigroup and another from Swiss giant UBS, were present at the crunch meeting in April 2012. The Bank of England has already been heavily criticised for being slow to act over the manipulation of ‘Libor’ interest rates, which are used to set anything from the price of mortgages to bets on complex financial instruments. Investigation: A number of banks are being investigated over the allegations of rigging . Former deputy governor Paul Tucker was forced to deny claims he sanctioned Barclays’s manipulation of Libor, after embarrassing emails were published documenting his phone calls with disgraced former Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond. Barclays was fined £290million over the Libor scandal in June 2012, with Mr Diamond forced to resign just days later. Regulators, including the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and Serious Fraud Office, are now investigating whether banks also conspired to manipulate benchmarks used for giant trades on foreign currency movements. Whistleblowers have claimed that traders rigged their own bets by pushing the benchmark rate for trades in foreign currency up or down. This could be achieved by sharing information about currency orders from clients with other banks, shortly before the benchmark rate was set in London at 4pm. By doing this traders could gain an impression about probable moves in currency markets. The Bank of England was not responsible for regulating UK lenders until April 2013 but it is supporting the FCA probe. Last night it refused to confirm nor deny the allegations but published the minutes of the meeting, following a Freedom of Information Act request. The minutes make a fleeting reference to discussions on rules for foreign currency trading. Last night, MPs demanded answers from the Bank of England. Mark Garnier,Conservative MP and member of the influential Treasury Select Committee said: ‘There is a question as to whether these traders were sharing market intelligence or colluding to manipulate rates. If the Bank of England and other regulators let information slip through the net it should be hammered. Individuals must be held accountable.’ Shadow Treasury minister Chris Leslie called for a Treasury inquiry. ‘These are extremely serious allegations and we need to know exactly who knew what and when. We need a crack team of enforcers to stamp out wrongdoing, not a team of Keystone Cops.’ A spokesman for the Bank of England said: ‘The Bank of England has already released its record of the April 2012 meeting, and we are continuing to support the FCA in its investigations.’ | Traders claim they told Bank about information sharing in 2012 .
But officials told banks they should make up own rules about currency rates . |
fadfa7d7c86a5bddfb5d12aab492259c1539a449 | Jamaica has made it legal to possess small amounts of marijuana in a historical law change which will allow Rastafarians to freely smoke the drug. Cannabis has been illegal on the Caribbean island for decades despite it being puffed as a sacrament by Rastafarians and sung about in their reggae music. The law new makes possession of up to two ounces of marijuana a petty offence that could result in a ticket but not in a criminal record. Marijuana legalisation advocate an reggae singer Bunny Wailer smokes a marijuana pipe in Kingston, Jamaica. Possessing small amounts of the drug has now been decriminalised . Cultivation of five or fewer plants on any premises would also be permitted. Tourists who are prescribed medical marijuana abroad will soon be able to apply for permits authorising them to legally buy small amounts of Jamaican weed, or 'ganja' as it is known locally. Jamaica has long been considered as the Caribbean's largest supplier of marijuana to the United States and regional islands. But despite the new legislation, Peter Bunting, the island's national security minister has said it does not mean they have backed down from cracking transnational drug trafficking. Mr Bunting told parliament: 'The passage of this legislation does not create a free-for-all in the growing, transporting, dealing or exporting of ganja. 'The security forces will continue to rigorously enforce Jamaican law consistent with our international treaty obligations.' Debate has long raged in Jamaica over relaxing laws prohibiting ganja but previous calls to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana fizzled out because officials feared they would bring sanctions from Washington. Jamaican officials now have high hopes that the island can become a player in the nascent medical marijuana industry, health tourism and the development of innovative pot-derived items. Local scientists now hope to capitalise on the law change as they already have a history of creating marijuana-derived products . Local scientists already have a history of creating marijuana-derived products, such as Canasol, which helps relieve pressure in the eyes of glaucoma patients. Commerce Minister Anthony Hylton said the cannabis industry holds 'great potential' for Jamaica, where marijuana has long been grown illegally on mountainsides and marshes. The move by Jamaican lawmakers adds to an international trend of easing restrictions on marijuana for medical or personal use. More than 20 U.S. states allow some form of medical marijuana and last year Colorado and Washington legalised personal use. Yesterday Alaska became the third U.S. state to legalise the recreational use of marijuana for adults. In the Americas, Uruguay last year became the first nation to create a legal marijuana market. In Argentina, personal possession of marijuana was decriminalised under a 2009 Supreme Court ruling that jail time for small amounts of drugs violates the country's constitution. A law in Chile also permits use of medical marijuana. | Jamaican parliament has decriminalised possessing small amounts of drug .
New legislation now allows Rastafarians to freely smoke marijuana .
The drug is puffed on as a sacrament as part of the Rastafarian religion .
Island now hope to become major player in medical marijuana industry .
Commerce minister says law change presents 'great potential' for the economy . |
fadfb26c3e59d810e5fba5e22e8887bbec7c42db | Of 100,000 pupils in the capital, 6,220 did not get one of their choices . In Kensington and Chelsea, 64.9% of children got their first choice of school . By . Gareth Dorrian . PUBLISHED: . 16:07 EST, 19 April 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 16:46 EST, 19 April 2012 . Nearly a third of five-year-olds in parts of London missed out on their first choice of primary school this year - new figures show. Statistics published by the Pan-London Admissions Board reveal that across the capital more than 20 per cent of youngsters did not get a place at their preferred school that they were hoping for. But the figures also reveal differences across the city, with children more likely to get their first choice in some areas than in others. Places: One fifth of five-year-olds in London did not get their preferred primary school place (file photo) In Kensington and Chelsea 64.9 per cent of children starting primary school this September got their preferred option, meaning 35.1 per cent of youngsters missed out. In Wandsworth 69.37 per cent of pupils got their first choice, with 30.63 per cent missing out. At the other end of the scale, 85.36 per cent of pupils in Barking and Dagenham got their first choice, along with 86.01 per cent in Tower Hamlets. Of 100,000 pupils in London applying for primary places this year, 6,220 youngsters did not get one of their choices. A spokesman for the admissions board which co-ordinates school places for London said that 78 per cent of pupils got their first choice; while 90% got one of their top three, and 94 per cent got one of their six preferences. Families across London found out on Thursday which primary school their child had got. Across England, many families will be finding out their allocation over the next few weeks. Choices: More than 100,000 London families applied for a primary school place (file photo) Possible reasons for the figures include parents only listing one school when filling in forms, and a huge demand for some popular schools, the spokesman added. Of those who didn't get the school of their choice; 4,700 have been offered an alternative, while around 1,500 currently have no school place. Pan London Admissions Board chairman Helen Jenner said: 'Co-ordinating school admissions in London has meant a fairer distribution of available offers and has resulted in more parents getting an offer from one of their preferred schools earlier. 'It is important to emphasise that although the system is very efficient, it cannot create places at schools which are already full and not all parents can be offered their first preference. 'London local authorities are working hard to try to ensure that they can offer every child a school place but with this surge in demand it is becoming increasingly difficult.' | Of 100,000 pupils in the capital, 6,220 did not get one of their choices .
In Kensington and Chelsea, 64.9% of children got their first choice of school . |
fadfd2a058a4925e50e1fa4cbcf4aeaa423f65ef | Hundreds of mourners, including Springboks skipper Jean de Villiers, paid tribute to South Africa captain Senzo Meyiwa, who was shot dead on Sunday, during a moving memorial service in Johannesburg on Thursday. The Standard Bank Arena was packed full as people united to pay tribute to Meyiwa and two other South African sports figures who died in the past few days. Former world champion 800-meter runner Mbulaeni Mulaudzi was killed in a car crash on Friday and female boxer Phindile Mwelase died on Saturday. South Africa have been allowed to move their next African Cup of Nations qualifier to the hometown of the slain national team captain as a tribute. South Africa captain Senzo Meyiwa was shot dead near Johannesburg on Sunday while visiting his girlfriend . South Africans are in despair at the death of three high-profile sporting figures in the last week . A banner in honour of the South Africa captain is displayed at the Standard Bank Arena . Mourners sing and cheer during the memorial for Meyiwa, Olympic champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and boxer Phindile Mwelase . Fans sang and danced at the memorial service for the slain Bafana-Bafana and Orlando Pirates star . A marshall places a portrait of Meyiwa in view of the mourners inside the arena . Springboks rugby union captain Jean de Villiers (centre) attended the memorial service . A fan of the Orlando Pirates, who Meyiwa played for, watches the ceremony . South African Football Association President Danny Jordaan made the announcement at the memorial service and also promised a statue of the goalkeeper would be built to stand outside SAFA's headquarters at Soccer City in Johannesburg. The goalkeeper was shot and killed in an apparent house robbery on Sunday, unleashing dismay and anger in South Africa over the violent death of one of its most popular players. Meyiwa had captained South Africa to the top of their qualifying group and was yet to concede a goal in qualifying, putting Bafana Bafana on the brink of sealing a place at next year's continental championship. Nelson Mandela's former wife, Winnie, arrives to attend the memorial in Johannesburg . A close friend of the late Meyiwa breaks down in tears after reading out his obituary . A supporter wears a shirt bearing the name of Senzo Meyiwa . One grieving fan sits slumped in his chair whiling holding a photograph of Meyiwa . A mourner waves a South African flag as his nation laments the loss of three of its sporting stars . Mourners wore costumes in support of Meyiwa and the South African team he played for, Orlando Pirates . To honor Meyiwa, SAFA was given special permission by the Confederation of African Football to move next month's qualifier against Sudan from Nelspruit in the north to Meyiwa's hometown of Durban on the east coast, Jordaan said. South Africa will qualify for the Cup of Nations if they win. The game on November 15 will now be played at Moses Mabhida Stadium, where Meyiwa's funeral will be held on Saturday. Meyiwa was fatally shot while visiting his girlfriend in Vosloorus township near Johannesburg. He was attempting to protect Kelly Khumalo during a robbery at her home. The 27-year-old skippered his club side Orlando Pirates in their 4-1 win against Ajax Cape Town on Saturday night, and was pictured looking happy with girlfriend Khumalo, a South African pop star, earlier on Sunday. But the South African police service say Meyiwa was fatally shot when armed men broke into the house where he was staying at around 8pm.. Police are hunting three suspects in the shooting and have offered a reward of around £14,000 to catch them. On Thursday, Jordaan challenged South Africans - who are used to high levels of violent crime - to hand in illegal guns, which he said will be put in a furnace and melted down to build Meyiwa's statue. Jordaan said the more illegal guns given up, the bigger Meyiwa's statue would be. Meyiwa's girlfriend Kelly Khumalo, a South African singer posted this picture with him on Sunday, hours before he was shot dead . Meyiwa and Wayne Rooney after a Vodacom Challenge match between Orlando Pirates and Manchester United in 2008 . 'That statue will stand in front of SAFA House and when you walk into SAFA House, you must walk past Senzo,' Jordaan said. Meyiwa had been in superb form for both club and country recently, leading Orlando Pirates to last season's African Champions League final, including a superb performance against TP Mazembe during which he saved two penalties. Since breaking into the national team last year, he claimed the No 1 spot in the absence of Itumeleng Khune, and was made captain in September. Female boxer Phindile Mwelase (right) was also mourned at the service after she died on Saturday . Former world champion 800-meter runner Mbulaeni Mulaudzi was killed in a car crash on Friday . The South African goalkeeper played for Orlando Pirates from 2006, becoming first choice for the club in 2012. In 2008 he swapped shirts with Wayne Rooney when Manchester United played the Pirates in a pre-season friendly in Durban. In 2013 his performances in the African Champions League were nothing short of exceptional. He kept seven clean-sheets in 16 games, helping the Pirates to the final. After making his debut in 2013 against Swaziland, Meyiwa won six caps for South Africa, the most recent coming this month, as captain. During the current Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign Meyiwa has played all four games for South Africa, without conceding a single goal. In September he was made captain of the national team in the absence of Itumeleng Khune. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Senzo Meyiwa was declared dead on arrival at hospital after being shot .
Police 'break protocol' to announce death of 27-year-old on Twitter, and promise to bring killers to justice .
Meyiwa had captained South Africa earlier this month in games against Congo .
Orlando Pirates release a statement expressing sadness at untimely death .
Doncaster midfielder Dean Furman, an international team-mate, says he is 'beyond devastated' |
fadff214dd9430fda9eb2af6e284e851142ed4f3 | For Il Divo star Sébastien Izambard, standing on stage at the famed Marquis Theatre on Broadway was a momentous occasion. Indeed, for the entire group, it was a dream come true as they debuted their new show A Musical Affair last week. What was once a ‘popera’ act created by Simon Cowell - which as bandmate David Miller admits no-one believed would last longer than two years - had now reached this pinnacle, spanning 10 years and selling more than 26 million albums worldwide. But for French-born Sébastien especially, the work has been grueling as he has strives to juggle Il Divo and his growing family – jetting home to see his wife and three young children between shows around the globe. Happy family: Il Divo star Sébastien Izambard and his wife Renee have three children - and are now discussing a fourth - as they juggle his hectic touring schedule . Broadway-bound: Il Divo, from left, Carlos Marin, Sébastien Izambard, Urs Bühler and David Miller, leave the ITV studios in London in April. They launched A Musical Affair on Broadway last week . New York, New York: Il Divo warble some of the musical greats during their show at the Marquis Theatre on opening night on Broadway last Wednesday . And for the first time, Sébastien, 40, reveals just why it’s so important to him to make sure he spends as much time as possible with his beloved wife Renee, and their five-year-old twins Luca and Rose and two-year-old son Jude. When he was just six, the dashing Parisian’s father Maurice left him and his mother Marie, then only 24. And in an exclusive interview today, Sébastien tells MailOnline: ‘I had a difficult childhood, I didn’t have very present parents because they separated early and my mum had to keep everything together and manage a child and work. ‘She was young and she was not very much around, she did the best she could with what she had. But I had to manage myself from an early age, I didn’t have a lot of support, so that’s why I’m really present with my children.’ Once revealing he lived with his mother in a ‘tiny room on top of an apartment block, with an outside toilet and only a sink to wash in’, Sébastien went on to become a pop star in France at 21 after telling how the piano became his ‘therapist’. Daddy: Sébastien Izambard says Simon Cowell, who created Il Divo, will be a good father to his baby son, adding: 'I think that people you don't expect to be changing nappies suddenly change' And he is quick to add: ‘I’m very close to my mum now…I don’t see my father - I made a choice, but I feel like I’m good, I’m lucky.’ After meeting his wife Renee in her native Australia where she worked as a publicist for Sony, the couple wed in August 2008. However, Renee suffered not just one but two difficult pregnancies, battling a host of health problems. The first culminated in their twins being born three months prematurely by emergency caesarean as Renee developed the condition pre-eclampsia, with dangerously high blood pressure – prompting Sébastien to pull out of an Il Divo tour of Japan as he says: ‘There was no question, it was not easy to understand for the group, but my family will always come first. I could not perform, I had to be by her side.’ For weeks it was not known whether the tiny babies would survive. And during her second labour, with their son Jude, now two, Renee came close to death herself after suffering placental abruption. As Sébastien told the Mail in 2011:‘It’s been very difficult but it pulled us closer together. We have risked death to be parents.’ Renee has spoken out about her pregnancy battles and Sébastien says: ‘I’m pleased that she spoke about it, pre-eclampsia is the number one death in pregnancy. ‘It’s such a difficult thing and not enough is known. The reality is that we have some friends who’ve gone in and in 10 minutes had a nice delivery, but we had none of that, what we experienced means everything is more precious. ‘It was definitely risky for Renee and the kids, it was really tough.’ Clearly . proud of his family, Sébastien delights in recounting their recent . visits to the zoos and museums around Manhattan after Renee and the . children – whom he says are already musical much to his chagrin, . sighing: ‘I don’t want them to do what Daddy does, I want to keep them . at home!’ Miracles: The twins that Sébastien Izambard and his wife Renee thought they may lose when they were born three months prematurely. Luca and Rose are now five and thriving . Devoted: Sébastien Izambard, pictured in New York last week, says he is even more appreciative of his young family after suffering a difficult childhood . He adds: ‘Renee was here with the kids for the last two weeks and it was utterly madness, we have five-year-old twins and a two-year-old like a rugby player, he’s like his granddad who’s 6ft 5, so it was challenging.’ But, he reveals that during the visit: ‘We talked about having a fourth one when we settle, probably in California, next year. ‘We would like to have another one…I’m an only child and I dreamed of having a big family. The problem is finding the right balance between family and work. ‘Renee was in the entertainment industry, she understands the downside of having a husband who comes home and sleeps, but somehow it just works, we manage to find a balance and it seems to be working for now.’ 'We talked about having a fourth child when we settle, probably in California, next year. I’m an only child and I dreamed of . having a big family...The problem is finding the right balance between . family and work' As for Mr Cowell, who created Il Divo after having the idea of forming a modern day Three Tenors, Sébastien laughs when asked about the music millionaire’s impending fatherhood. Cowell’s baby boy with girlfriend Lauren Silverman is due in February and Sébastien says: ‘Everyone wonders what Simon will be like as a father, but I think he’ll be good. ‘I think people that you don’t expect to be changing nappies suddenly change. When you become a dad you change, that’s the way it is, you have this little life relying on you, good and bad. ‘I’m very hands on with my kids. I would be a manny! I would be happy to be at home with my kids, but I can see how challenging it is.’ And indeed, his fellow bandmate, David . Miller says he and his wife, stunning opera singer Sarah Joy – who . recently played tragic Anna Nicole Smith in the New York City Opera’s . production – have decided that ‘right now isn’t the time’ for them to . become parents. Singing sensations: Il Divo tenor David Miller and his wife Sarah Joy Miller at the opening night of Anna Nicole The Opera in September, in which Sarah Joy had the starring role . Tragic: David Miller's wife Sarah Joy Miller played tragic playmate Anna Nicole Smith in the New York City Opera's production in September . Married to Sarah Joy since 2009, David, 40, tells MailOnline: ‘We talk about it a lot, we look at Sebastian – but the children would have to be travelling or they would have to be raised by a nanny and that’s not something either of us want. We’re both very emotional people and very attached to the people in our lives. ‘It wouldn’t be fair, one of our careers would have to give.’ Along with their fellow bandmates, . Spanish baritone Carlos Marín, Swiss tenor Urs Bühler, Sébastien and . David will now tour America and Canada with A Musical Affair following . their six-night run on Broadway. This will be followed by a worldwide tour from next September. Sébastien . says: ‘The show’s going great, it’s wonderful to be in one place and . it’s very refreshing to sing a new repertoire rather than having to sing . Unbreak My Heart for the 30,000th time! The songs are beautiful.’ Tour: Il Divo will now take A Musical Affair around America and Canada, it was revealed today . Talent: Il Divo join Heather Headley, who stars in A Musical Affair, at the America's Got Talent finale at NYC's Radio City Music Hall in September . With David being the last member to be signed to Il Divo in December 2003 following a worldwide two-year search, Sébastien admits: ‘It’s a miracle in terms of what happened for the four of us. ‘We don’t seem to be a band that seems to rest! In terms of recording, Simon is able to trust us, we’re really independent and we’re grown up – and he’s going to have a lot to deal with!’ David adds: ‘Il Divo has had a much longer life than any of us thought it would – it’s gone on about eight years longer than anyone – the group, Simon, our management – thought it would. No-one could have predicted our global success. ‘We didn’t expect to get to this point, I would love to see Il Divo continue as long as people still enjoy what we do.’ For more on tickets to Il Divo's A Musical Affair go to www.ildivo.com . | French singer reveals how a 'difficult childhood' has made him closer to his own kids .
Star and his wife Renee nearly lost their twins when they were born three-months prematurely .
Renee then nearly died after giving birth to their second son after developing the potentially fatal condition pre-eclampsia .
Sébastien is now appearing on Broadway in Il Divo's A Musical Affair . |
fae000f772d835d892b48291e3896d6feea29fe3 | She arrived for her annual summer break at Balmoral just five days after the Royal baby was born. And now, almost two weeks later, the Queen appears to have relaxed into her two month holiday with ease. She was greeted by hordes of well-wishers as she inspected the troops outside the gates of Balmoral today as she arrived to take up official residence. She had landed in Scotland more than a week earlier, on 27 June, when she arrived by private aeroplane with her two corgis, Holly and Willow, for the break. Jolly good show! The Queen inspects the Royal Scots Borderers at the gates to Balmoral as she takes up summer residence there . Until now, she had been staying in . one of the other houses on the estate before the tourist season came to . and end on 31 July and the main residence could be prepared for her . arrival. Dressed in a . powder blue suit and hat trimmed with a statement bloom, she looked . delighted with what she saw as the pipers struck up in her honour. The Queen traditionally spends the . entire summer in her Scottish residence, and is customarily joined for . the whole duration by Prince Philip, with other members of the Royal . family dropping in for portions of the break. Philip . is set to join the Queen at her private estate on Monday, after . carrying out his first public engagement two months since he was . admitted to the London Clinic on 6 June for exploratory abdominal . surgery. It will be the Duke of Edinburgh's first official engagement since the surgery. Philip, 92, will travel to Edinburgh where he will hand out medals at the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Buckingham Palace said. Others . who may join the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh include William and . Kate, who it has been suggested may decide to holiday at Balmoral, . travelling there from Bucklebury in Buckinghamshire where they are . currently spending family time at the Middleton's mansion. No wonder she's cheerful - the Queen will now remain at her beloved private estate until October . The Queen beamed as she was accompanied by Ballater Guard commanding officer Major Jules Kilpatrick to inspects the Royal Scots Borderers at the gates to Balmoral . The . Queen arrived at Balmoral on 27 July but stayed in another house on . the estate while she waited for the tourist season to end on 31 July. The main residence was then secured so the Royals could move in . Crowds of local well-wishers gathered to welcome the Queen . Although the queen arrived in Scotland nearly a week ago (August 2nd), she has been staying in a house on the Balmoral estate while Balmoral Castle was being prepared for her . | Monarch arrived 27 July but spent first 10 days elsewhere on the estate .
Had to wait until tourist season ended on 31 July, then another week for team to secure the main residence .
Queen expected to be joined by Prince Philip on Monday .
Other Royals likely to drop in - with suggestions William and Kate may spend some time there . |
fae062eec06fd2373d743add17b3b4cbf0d4d0e0 | By . Lillian Radulova . When 23-year-old Mandy began complaining of unbearable pain and strange bleeding, doctors told her she was simply too young to have cancer. But after a long battle to get medical professionals to take her seriously, Mandy was finally diagnosed with bowel cancer. But that was just the beginning of her struggle. 'When they operated on her they sewed her bowels almost fully shut and so a few days out of her surgery she couldn't go to the bathroom and she started to develop toxaemia (blood poisoning) and was in excruciating pain,' photographer Nadia Masot, one of the bright minds behind a new cancer awareness campaign, said. 'Mandy was literally dying, but again she had a lot of trouble trying to get the doctors to believe her.' Scroll down for video . Mandy is one of many Australian women who have bared their scars for the Under The Red Dress Campaign. She was diagnosed with bowel cancer at 23 and had 40cm of her bowel removed before suffering from toxic poisoning due to them being sewn almost shut during surgery . Plagued by temperamental bowels, the mother from Bundaberg, Queensland, now has to have regular check-ups for the rest of her life. Her six-year-old son will also need to start having checks from the age of 12. Mandy's traumatic experience has led her to bare her scars and share her inspirational cancer survival story, alongside a handful of Australian women in the Under The Red Dress campaign. The women have posed nude for a book and exhibition to raise awareness for the early detection of cancer, following in the brave footsteps of Beth Whaanga, who made international headlines earlier this year for revealing her own hysterectomy and mastectomy scars. Inspirational: Beth Whaanga was the first to pose for the project after asking Nadia Masot, her friend of 13 years, to take the snaps in a bid to help her with the healing process in February of this year . Mrs Whaanga had a double mastectomy and full hysterectomy in November last year after being diagnosed with breast cancer. The adverse reactions that she received over social media when posting these photos led her to commit to creating a whole book of similar photographs . Ms Whaanga, a registered nurse and criminologist from Queensland, lost hundreds of Facebook friends after sharing the black and white images on her profile, but she also received hundreds of emails of support. It was the adverse reactions that Mrs Whaanga received over social media that led her to commit to creating a whole book of similar photographs. She teamed up with her photographer and best friend of 13-years Nadia Masot to photograph women who have battled cancer across the country for their Under The Red Dress campaign. When complete, it will feature a total of 50 people under the age of 50, photographed in two thought provoking ways. Two sides: Triathlete and mother-of-two, Yasmin, had prophylactic total bilateral mastectomies when she learned her mother had breast cancer . The Under The Red Dress project involves two types of images being taken of each person: The first is a highly retouched version (left) of 'how the world would like to see them'. The second, black and white photos (right), are completely unedited and raw showing 'the reality beneath the red dress' They were inspired to begin the project after receiving several hundred applications from women around the world, who want to share their traumatic stories and learn to love their bodies again. 'I think it was just the fact that we struck a nerve with people, it kind of inspired us the way people reacted. Just all the symbolism behind the red dress came together in this really cool concept and I thought, "we can either just let the experience pass and it's one of those things or we can use that voice as an opportunity to say something",' Mrs Masot said. One of the women who will feature in the coffee table book and exhibition, is 34-year-old Menerralea, who considered herself lucky to not require chemotherapy after having two surgeries to remove cancerous tissue while 14 and 19 weeks pregnant. 'She was diagnosed with cancer when she was pregnant with her third child,' Mrs Masot said when asked how she selected the women she would photograph. 'That sort of thing really moves me because you’re making a decision about your life and the babies life, potentially. That really strikes a chord with me because that's a really difficult decision.' Shira is a 34-year-old mother of two living in New York. She had a prophylactic double mastectomy in 2013 as a preventative measure when she learnt she had the breast cancer gene . Arlington, USA resident Liz, was diagnosed with Stage III Invasive Ductal Carcinoma while breastfeeding her fourth baby . Liz had to wean her baby in order to start chemotherapy before she underwent a bilateral mastectomy with expander placement, 36 radiation treatments, and DIEP flap reconstruction . Other women who are taking part in the campaign have had to endure gruelling side effects of surgery. 'One applicant had her breast completely rotted – or so it looks like from the photos,' Mrs Masot said. 'It got gangrene or something due to lack of blood-flow from the failed implant - not implant as in silicon but they use the muscles from your stomach and so it needs to have blood-flow to be able to live, its almost like an organ transplant. 'This one had failed and so her entire breast was black and yellow with pus. 'And so then she's got some after photos once that has been removed, and it's like a gigantic crater that's in her chest. Those sorts of things are quite shocking.' Beth was 39 when she had a nipple sparing bilateral mastectomy. She suffered numerous post op infections which lead to multiple surgeries and medical treatment over the years . She finally managed to reconstruct her breasts through SGAP flap, a fairly new microsurgery tissue from her bottom. She lives in Virginia, USA with her four children and her husband . Explaining how the shots are chosen, Mrs Masot said: 'We photograph them in a way that the world likes to see them; so for example you've got Beth in a red dress looking glamorous. The photos are highly retouched as well so that it kind of almost looks like a photo you see in a magazine,' 'Next to those, we have the black and white portraits which is when they strip down to their scars. There's absolutely no retouching of those photos whatsoever and it's just really raw. Its kind of like 'this is whats under the red dress'. The idea behind that is to really draw that comparison between what you see everyday and what is actually real.' Beside the pictures, each person will have a blurb to describe what they have been through and how they feel about their bodies which have changed as a result of having cancer. Yasmin Grigaliunas, who posed for Mrs Masot after undergoing prophylactic double mastectomies, described how her six and seven-year-old daughters reacted to both versions of the photographs. Brave: Menerralea (left) was diagnosed with cancer while she was pregnant with her third child. She was forced to make difficult decisions regarding both her own life and the life of her unborn child. Sue (right) has also joined the campaign . 'They both commented significantly that I looked like a model and that it wasn’t really like me, that I had too much makeup on and my skin didn’t look that nice and that I have many more spots than what they could see in the images.' 'When they saw the black and white images I could see this calm more natural behaviour in them and they said "mum that's more like what you look like". 'After removing my breasts I look at my body now and I love it more than I’ve ever loved it and I think that the project has really helped me do that.' If Mrs Masot and Mrs Whaanga receive enough funding for their project through their Kickstarter campagin, they will fulfil their original goal which involved photographing applicants from the US, Canada, Europe and New Zealand alongside the Australian women. Nadia Masot and Beth Whaanga are the masterminds behind the new project which will result in an exhibition and coffee table book to promote cancer awareness and positive body image for people who have undergone cancer surgeries . Best friends: Beth (left) and Nadia (right) pose for a photo together ahead of a David Jones and National Breast Cancer Foundation event . Despite continuing to receive criticism for choosing to focus on people under the age of 50, Mrs Masot explained that the collaborating duo wanted to target the discrepancy in awareness amongst younger people who they believe do not receive the same information and support. 'There’s this idea among young people that they are invincible, that nothing is going to happen to them. So it was a choice that we made because we saw it as an opportunity to change that mindset,’ she said. Mandy's story embodied that idea: 'Because you're so young, people are like 'well it can't be cancer'. It can be,' Ms Masot said. 'She has had quite a plight getting doctors to actually believe her when she says that something is wrong, and there have been almost fatal errors. 'The goal is twofold. We want to raise awareness for cancer and get people to be a lot more vigilant in their screening and just be aware of their bodies and what’s normal and what's not. 'But also, if it does happen to you, that it’s not the end of the world. You're still alive, you've got scars to prove it and you need to still feel beautiful.' | Cancer survivors are taking part in the campaign by exposing their scars in a book and exhibition .
50 people around the world under the age of 50 are expected to pose nude for the project .
The idea came after Nadia Masot took nude photos of Beth Whaanga after her double mastectomy and hysterectomy .
Each person is photographed in a highly retouched way to contrast the raw black and white version which shows the reality of their scars . |
fae0d28e789c939dc972d8ed197133ef83356d90 | By . Mark Duell . PUBLISHED: . 19:28 EST, 19 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 01:49 EST, 20 June 2013 . A cast of Napoleon Bonaparte's death mask has sold for almost £170,000 at auction after spending years stored in a family attic. The mask was made for a British chaplain shortly after the French emperor’s death on the South Atlantic island of St Helena in 1821, where he was exiled. The rare find went under the hammer at Bonhams Book, Map and Manuscript sale in Knightsbridge, central London, yesterday and sold for £169,250 - well above its estimate of £40,000 to £60,000. Under the hammer: The mask (cast, pictured left) was made for a British chaplain shortly after French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's (right) death on the South Atlantic island of St Helena in 1821, where he was exiled . Known as the 'Boys cast', it was made for the Reverend Richard Boys, senior chaplain of St Helena, two days after Napoleon's death - and when the Emperor's body was beginning to decompose. It was sold by Andrew Boys, a direct descendent of the original owner's brother, who was left it in a family member's will. After years of being stored in the attic of his home, Mr Boys decided to sell it. The cast is classed as the most significant example of its kind remaining in private hands. All but one of the other examples are in national collections in France. Andrew Boys said for years he did not know what to do the cast, adding: ‘At a family funeral I was rather surprised and taken aback, to hear that I had been left this mask. ‘After a while I realised its . significance but I was not sure what to do with it beyond ensuring its . safety. To date it has been confined to an attic but I most definitely . did not want this to happen for another generation. ‘I came to the conclusion that the . best thing to do was to offer it for sale in the hope that, as a result, . it was something more people would then be able to see and enjoy’. Rare: Known as the 'Boys cast', it was made for the Reverend Richard Boys, senior chaplain of St Helena, two days after Napoleon's death - and when the Emperor's body was beginning to decompose . After . Napoleon's death, there was a protracted wrangle over whether his . physician, Francesco Antommarchi, or the British doctor, Francis Burton, . should make a death mask. Practical difficulties also meant this was not done until two days after the former Emperor had died. The mask was given to Rev Boys by the . portrait painter, J.W. Rubidge, who helped Mr Antommarchi to make the . mask. Rev Boys received it before Napoleon's entourage left the island. Napoleon Bonaparte, who was exiled to Elba, Italy, after defeat in 1814, escaped and returned to France before being beaten again at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and imprisoned by the British on St Helena. He was supported by South America, which was backed by him when it was trying to gain independence from Spain, and had ambitions of a new empire in Mexico or Venezuela. But Napoleon was one on the most closely guarded prisoners of all time, with a strong Royal Navy squadron of 11 ships patrolling the South Atlantic island where he was kept 1,200 miles from the nearest land. Plots to rescue him included those using yachts, steamboats and balloons - and one was said to have even involved a submarine. The escape plans were hatched despite Napoleon being confined to an astonishingly secure prison for the era, which was guarded by 2,800 men and 500 cannon on its handful of possible landing ports. He spent six years on the heavily-guarded island, in the refurbished Longwood mansion, where visitors were thoroughly questioned and searched, before dying in May 1821, apparently of cancer. It is inscribed 'Rev Mr Boys' on the inside of the cast - and comes with a note by Boys, reading: ‘This Cast was taken from the Face of Napoleon Buonaparte as he lay dead at Longwood St. Helena 7th May 1821 which I do hereby certify/ R. Boys M.A. Sen.r Chaplain/ By Rubidge.’ Revd Boys is recorded as having played chess with Napoleon and is said to have brought several mementos of the Frenchman with him on his return to England eight years later. He was a strict moralist who made himself unpopular by preaching sermons against the loose living of senior members of the British garrison. As a result he was said to have been viewed as something of a liability by the British authorities and well-regarded by the French contingent on the Island. This may explain why he managed to get hold of such an intimate memento of the Emperor as this impression of his death mask. Bonhams spokesman Matthew Haley said: ‘This mask is a fascinating reflection on the nature of power and its projection. ‘By the time the cast for the mask was made Napoleon's body had begun to decompose in the fierce heat and, as was noted at the time, his features had changed quite markedly. ‘The very last image we have of Napoleon, therefore, is more that of a saint than the man of action and resolution carefully engineered in the portraits painted during his lifetime.' Bonhams consultant Felix Pryor added: ‘Before the invention of photography, taking a cast from a person's face was the one way of producing what may be described as an objective likeness. These masks were most often taken after death. 'In this they became part of the funerary rites of the dead, the royal dead especially - royal death masks can be traced back to at least the time of Tutankhamun. ‘The present death mask of Napoleon can be seen as standing at the end of this long tradition - the world's first photograph was to be taken only five years later’. | Rare find went under the hammer at Bonhams sale in Knightsbridge .
It was made for Reverend Richard Boys, senior chaplain of St Helena .
Sold by Andrew Boys, direct descendent of the original owner's brother .
Put cast in attic after receiving it in a will - years later it's gone on sale . |
fae0d712d96a365f4736107d3dcb26b7f2e8a9b1 | By . Dan Bloom . An England superfan has left neighbours in no doubt of his favourite World Cup team after decking out every inch of his house with St George's crosses. Tony Baddams spent three weeks covering his four-bedroom terraced home in Southampton, Hampshire, with more than 300 flags, shirts and giant fluffy dice. There are so many of the red and white flags that they have covered up his windows, blocking out the sun - but the Chelsea supporter insists it is worth it. Spot the England fan: World Cup enthusiast Tony Baddams, 46, has decked out his terraced home in Southampton with more than 300 St George's cross flags, shirts and fluffy dice - even blocking out sunlight . Boisterous: The statement by Mr Baddams (right with his son Sean) has had a mixed reaction from neighbours . The football fan, 46, said he had been decorating his house for every World Cup since the 1980s and this year's was his best effort yet. He has not revealed how much he has spent on the stunt - but admitted he has to buy new flags for every World Cup because the summer sunshine makes them fade. 'I just wanted to show my support for the lads,' he said. 'I love it when people call me a true England fan, I am proud of being English and supporting all the time. 'It is a family effort and we use a big ladder for the roof and a step ladder for the flags over the windows. Mr Baddams' wife Anita (left) said she liked the display despite having no natural light . 'It has been a bit difficult with the wind and rain recently. You start to get blown off the ladder but it was all right because my wife was holding it at the bottom. 'I do not see a lot of flags going up these days and this year it has been my best and hardest effort because of all of the wind and rain.' His wife Anita, a carer, said she was not keen initially but has grown to love the over-the-top show of support. The 44-year-old said: 'At first I said to Tony, "just put a couple up". 'Tony being Tony said "it's only once every four years - let's go the whole hog". 'Now I've seen it finished, I really like it. It does block out the sunlight but I just keep the front door open. 'Even if England get knocked out we'll keep the flags up until the end of the tournament.' There has been a mixed reaction from neighbours of Mr Draper's home, which is a stone's throw from Southampton FC's home ground at St Mary's Stadium. One amused German neighbour buried the hatchet of 1966 to take photographs of the unusual sight. But another neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: 'I think it is a bit scruffy and there are too many flags.' The tournament begins on Thursday in Brazil, with England's first match against Italy this Saturday in the Amazon rainforest city of Manaus. England manager Roy Hodgson will lead out the side in the Brazilian heat as they look to get off to a flying start before playing Uruguay and Costa Rica. How do your decorations compare to Mr Baddams'? E-mail your photos with your name, town and phone number to [email protected]. Superfan: Mr Baddams put up a similar display at his home four years ago, but said this year's was his best yet . | Tony Baddams, 46, spent three weeks covering Southampton home in flags .
There are more than 300 St George's cross flags, shirts and giant fluffy dice .
Chelsea fan claims biggest display yet after doing the same since the 1980s .
His wife said: 'It blocks out the sunlight but I just keep the front door open'
German neighbours buried hatchet to take photos - but others are unhappy . |
fae1a101413c96153e20a57e3888265a654f069f | A group of Boston taxi drivers is suing the city, saying officials have violated their rights by allowing the likes of Uber and Lyft to operate without licenses. Drivers are demanding damages and more oversight in a suit filed against the city of Boston at a federal court in the city. Drivers Raphael Ophir and Joseph Pierre, as well as industry group the Boston Taxi Owners Association launched the action. Unconstitutional? Taxi drivers in Boston say the regulatory set-up that exists now violates the 14th amendment, which guarantees equal treatment under the law (file photo) According to the Boston Globe, they complain that while they have to buy expensive taxi medallions for their cars, Uber drivers do not. Taxi drivers say this violates the 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal treatment under the law, because it applies different rules to similar services. The suit said: 'The City has . . . permitted the de facto taxi companies to flout the law with open impunity by deploying an invasion of unlicensed cars and drivers with no requirement of any medallion.' Uber has historically responded to such complaints by saying it is a technology company which connects riders and customers, rather than directly providing transportation. A city spokeswoman said officials hadn't received the complaint Friday and officials will review it. A city advisory commission has been examining the regulations. Legal struggles: Uber has been struck by lawsuits across the country, and is now banned in Portland, Oregon and Las Vegas . The lawsuit also challenges proposed state rules to have the Department of Public Utilities regulate ride-hailing services as 'transportation network companies.' The legislature hasn't approved the proposal. The lawsuit asks a judge to stop the state from enacting it. The action is part of a series of legal struggles over Uber, which has been banned in Las Vegas and Portland, Oregon. Legal decisions are also awaited in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Pennsylvania over whether the company can operate. | Cabbies say current set-up is unfair because they need to pay out for license .
Are suing city authorities for not treating Uber, Lyft, etc. in the same way .
According to the drivers, the arrangements violate the Constitution .
Uber has faced legal fights before, and is banned in Portland and Las Vegas . |
fae2125781e0f4e6a59b386ab1ceaded454ebf7a | (CNN) -- Unsanitary conditions at a Colorado cantaloupe farm's packing facility are a possible contributing cause of one of the nation's worst outbreaks of listeria contamination in food, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday. Meanwhile, a Centers for Disease Control official said it is too early to declare the outbreak over, but the number of new cases appeared to be diminishing. "The peak in illnesses appears to have occurred from late August until the middle of September," said Dr. Barbara Mahon of the CDC, who added that additional monitoring will be needed for at least another two weeks. The FDA said it was unable to pinpoint the definitive cause of the outbreak, which has been linked to 25 deaths so far. An FDA letter to Jensen Farms of Granada, Colorado, however, cited violations in sanitary conditions that must be addressed. It said tests showed "widespread contamination throughout your facility and indicates poor sanitary practices in the facility." The agency cited several likely causes of the spread of the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria at Jensen Farms. The likely causes included packing equipment that "was not easily cleaned and sanitized" and the use of washing and drying equipment for cantaloupe packing as well as other raw agricultural commodities. In addition, the agency said in a statement, the facility lacked a "pre-cooling step" to remove field heat from the cantaloupes before cold storage, possibly leading to condensation in the cooling process that promoted growth of the listeria bacteria. A letter dated Tuesday from the FDA to Jensen Farms cited violations in sanitary conditions. The letter said tests at the facility found listeria bacteria contamination. "These positive swabs were taken from different locations throughout the washing and packing areas in your facility, all of which were either food contact surfaces or areas adjacent to food contact surfaces," the letter said. "This significant percentage of swabs that tested positive for outbreak strains of Listeria monocytogenes demonstrates widespread contamination throughout your facility and indicates poor sanitary practices in the facility." According to the letter, the company has 15 days to document steps it has taken to correct the problems. The letter also said the company notified the FDA on Monday that it agreed to inspection by the agency of its growing, packaging, and cold storage operations before it resumes food harvesting, packaging, or processing. Jensen Farms also agreed to correct all objectionable observations noted during said FDA inspections, the letter said. A total of 123 people in 26 states have been infected by the listeria outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Additionally, a woman who was pregnant at the time of her illness had a miscarriage, the agency said. The listeria outbreak is the deadliest food-borne illness outbreak in the United States since 1998. Groups at high risk for listeria include older adults, people with weakened immune systems and pregnant women. Jensen Farms issued a voluntary recall of its Rocky Ford brand cantaloupes on September 14. The tainted cantaloupes should be off store shelves, the CDC has said. Cantaloupes from Jensen Farms should be disposed of immediately, even if some of them have been eaten, the agency recommended. If consumers are uncertain about the source of a cantaloupe, they are urged to ask their supermarket. If the source remains unknown, the fruit should be thrown out. Refrigerating a cantaloupe will not kill the bacteria, which can grow at low temperatures, and consumers should not try to wash off the bacteria. | The outbreak is not over, but new cases are on the decline .
At least 123 cases have been reported in 26 states; 25 people have died .
The tainted cantaloupes were recalled last month .
The outbreak is the deadliest food-borne illness outbreak in the United States since 1998 . |
fae28574c53b3c5d63895e7674be80c0a0a872b0 | (CNN) -- Zimbabwe has known only one leader in its entire 33-year history as an independent nation, and President Robert Mugabe hopes that doesn't change any time soon. Voters head to the polls Wednesday for the first time since the violence-marred election in 2008 to choose between the 89-year-old incumbent and his arch political rival-turned-prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai. Interactive: Democracy in Africa . As the July 31 vote day approaches, Zimbabwean election officials and some human rights organizations are giving sharply different assessments on the likely validity of the vote. Once again, there are allegations that Mugabe's government is targeting the opposition through military intimidation and arrests, and that it is padding the voter list. But the deputy chairwoman of Zimbabwe's Electoral Commission insists that the country is ready for the elections, and vowed the outcome will be valid. "Elections will be credible, free and fair," Joyce Kazembe told the South African Press Association this week. Some 600 foreign observers are monitoring the ballot, in addition to 6,000 local monitors, according to SAPA. Zimbabwe did not invite Western observers to monitor the elections because of sanctions imposed on Mugabe and his top officials for rights abuses. The African Union, which has sent more than 60 members to monitor the elections, has also expressed confidence in the process. "The environment in Zimbabwe so far reassures us that that the conditions are good for the election to be held on July 31," Aisha Abdullahi, AU commissioner for political affairs, said at a news conference last week, according to SAPA. Some observers say that the country may not be as ready as the African Union and Zimbabwe officials suggest. A Human Rights Watch investigation last month found that the Zimbabwe national army "has deployed soldiers across the country, intimidating, beating, and otherwise abusing perceived supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change or those critical of the government." Zimbabwe, seeking election funding, turns to neighboring countries . Zimbabwe's government has also arrested lawyers and members of organizations they see as threatening, according to Beatrice Mtetwa, a human rights lawyer based in Zimbabwe. "Certainly in the last nine months we've seen a lot of civil society activists being arrested," Mtetwa told CNN's Christiane Amanpour last month. "I also believe that my arrest is part of that crackdown because they want as few human rights lawyers to be out there during the election period as they can manage to stop," she added. Mtetwa was detained in March after she asked police for a search warrant when they searched one of her clients' homes, Amnesty International documented. When she told the police that what they were doing was "unlawful, unconstitutional, illegal and undemocratic," she was arrested for "obstructing the course of justice." There are also concerns that the voter roll may be inaccurate. More than 1 million people on the roll were found to be either deceased or departed, while 63 constituencies had more registered voters than inhabitants, according to a report last month by Research and Advocacy Unit, a Harare-based non-governmental research organization. "Such statistics suggest that the gap between the ideal and the actual impinges upon the integrity of Zimbabwe's electoral process," the report stated. Opposition party leaders and observers have called for postponement of elections, saying that more time is required to establish a transparent voting process. At a news conference on Friday -- just five days before the election -- Tsvangirai said that "there is clear evidence of manipulation" in poll preparations. Tsvangirai claimed that ballot papers cast in his favor during early voting for security services were discovered tossed in a bin. "There is a desperate attempt to subvert the people's will," he said. Early voting for security services members has already seen problems due to shortages of ballot papers and voting ink. Out of 63,268 people who were eligible to vote in the early polling, only 37,108 voted, according to Kazembe. Tsvangirai and the Southern Africa Development Community have urged Mugabe to delay the ballot. There are fears that this election could descend into violence like the last election in 2008, which resulted in a runoff. Tsvangirai pulled out of the runoff, citing intimidation, torture, mutilation and murder of his supporters. Regional leaders dismissed Zimbabwe's 2008 election as a sham, and the SADC pressured Mugabe to form a power-sharing agreement with Tsvangirai and his opposition Movement for Democratic Change. As a result, the two bitter rivals entered into an uneasy governing coalition in 2009. Some 6.4 million voters in Zimbabwe -- about half of the country's population -- will be eligible to cast their ballots on Wednesday, according to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. The elections will be held under a new constitution endorsed in a referendum in March that limits the president to two five-year terms. Mugabe is allowed to seek another term because the new charter does not apply retroactively. Last week, Mugabe had a few words for critics of the upcoming election. In response to criticisms from the United States on his push for elections without key reforms, Mugabe said at a rally, "Keep your pink nose out of our affairs, please." Opinion: Africa's rocky road to democracy . | Zimbabwe's presidential elections are next week .
The last vote in 2008 was marred by violence .
Robert Mugabe, 89, has been the country's only president . |
fae29916a936d9c64e39daae179ac0930152f73b | By . Mark Prigg . The same strain of killer bacteria that caused the Black Death and . spread around the world in the mid 1800s may have helped finish off the . Roman Empire, researchers have claimed. DNA analyses of skeletal remains of plague victims from the 6th century AD found traces of Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, has already been . linked with at least two of the most devastating pandemics in recorded . history. Now researchers believe it also caused the Justinianic Plague of the sixth to eighth centuries, which killed . more than 100 million people - and some historians believe contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire. An artist's recreation of the Byzantine Empire under Justinian I - which was decimated by the plague . The Plague of Justinian (AD 541–542) was a pandemic that afflicted the Eastern Roman Empire, including its capital Constantinople. At its peak, 5,000 people per day in Constantinople died from it, killing half the population. From there, the plague moved east and west, becoming antiquity's most . lethal known pandemic. Half a century after it began, between 25 million . and 100 million in Europe and Asia had died. The plague's social and cultural impact during the Justinian period has been compared to that of the Black Death. Some historians say the damage was so great to the Persian and Byzantine . empires that it made them vulnerable to the Muslim conquests of the . next century. However, while it has been claimed as one of the greatest plagues in history, but until now researchers have not know what form of plague it was. The Great Plague, which lasted from the 14th to 17th centuries, . included the infamous epidemic known as the Black Death, which may have . killed nearly two-thirds of Europe in the mid-1300s. The Modern Plague struck around the world in the 19th and 20th . centuries, beginning in China in the mid-1800s and spreading to Africa, . the Americas, Australia, Europe and other parts of Asia. However, until now researchers have been unsure whether it was also responsible for the Justinianic Plague. At its peak, 5,000 people per day in Constantinople died from it, killing half the population. Some historians say the damage was so great to the Persian and Byzantine . empires that it made them vulnerable to the Muslim conquests of the . next century. The latest study was led by Holger C. Scholz and Michaela Harbeck of the Palaeogenetics Group at the Institute . of Anthropology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. 'For a long time scholars from different disciplines have intensively . discussed about the actual etiological agents of the past pandemics', . said Dr. Barbara Bramanti, who also worked on the research. 'Only ancient DNA analyses carried out on skeletal remains of plague victims could finally conclude the debate.' Dr Bramanti also headed the international team which demonstrated . beyond any doubt that Y. pestis also caused the second pandemic of the . 14th-17th centuries including the Black Death, the infamous epidemic . that ravaged Europe from 1346-1351. Researchers at the Institute of Anthropology at Johannes Gutenberg University analysed ancient DNA from the teeth of 19 different sixth-century skeletons from a medieval graveyard in Bavaria, Germany, of people who apparently succumbed to the Justinianic Plague . To help solve the mystery, scientists analysed ancient DNA from the . teeth of 19 different sixth-century skeletons from a medieval graveyard . in Bavaria, Germany, of people who apparently succumbed to the . Justinianic Plague. They say the results, published last . week in PloS Pathogens, 'Confirmed unambiguously that Y. pestis was . indeed the causing agent of the first pandemic, in contrast to what has . been postulated by other scientists recently. The researchers said these findings confirm that the Justinianic Plague crossed the Alps, killing people in what is now Bavaria. Detail of a mosaic from San Vitale Cathedral in Ravenna, Italy, showing Byzantine Emperor Justinian the Great . However, they admit they still are not sure how many strain of the plague were responsible for the deaths. 'It remains questionable whether at the time of the Byzantine Emperor . Justinian only one strain or more were disseminated in Europe, as it was . at the time of the Black Death," said Dr Bramant. The researchers now hope to reconstruct the whole genome sequence of the . plague strain in these ancient teeth to learn more about the disease. Skeletal remains from a Black Death gravesite from 1348 in London unearthed by Crossrail workers.The same plague bacterium that caused the Justinianic Plague also is responsible for the Black Death that killed nearly two-thirds of Europe in the mid-1300s . | Bacterium that causes plague, Yersinia pestis, found in remains from the 6th century AD .
Justinianic Plague of the sixth to eighth centuries believe by some to have triggered the downfall of the Roman Empire .
Pandemic named after the Byzantine emperor Justinian I, and killed .
more than 100 million people . |
fae2b7ee1ec2edc0bf178a7eda0195a81361d4c4 | By . Eddie Wrenn . PUBLISHED: . 04:37 EST, 7 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 01:47 EST, 8 August 2012 . There was a public outcry when it was revealed that the next iPhone would get a new docking port connector. The newer, slimline port means that thousands of current Apple accessories will need a potentially clunky adapter to work with the 'iPhone 5' - or become unusable. Now, latest leaks from the website iMore, which has strong sources 'close to Apple', suggest that the entire next generation of iDevices, including the iPod Nano, iPod Touch, iPad Mini and future versions of the iPad, will use the new port. Apple is expected to refresh its iPod and iPhone product line this Autumn, and if the company sticks to its usual policy of annual upgrades, a new iPad can be expected next Spring. Change: This picture is believed to show a prototype case for the new iPhone, with its new connector design which is set to make every existing accessory completely obsolete . Old and new: The current iPhone is shown with the prototype of the iPhone 5's outer casing . iMore . is consistently accurate with predictions about Apple's next moves, and . suggest the announcement will be made at a launch event in San . Francisco on Wednesday, September 12. The . site believes a special connector will be released to connect older . accessories - such as docking stations and speakers - to newer versions . of the range. Many fans were . left angry after images allegedly showing the iPhone 5's new design . leaked out, showing the traditional 30-pin dock connector - used for . charging, syncing files and pumping audio to hi-fis - had been . re-designed into a smaller shape. Popular: But iPhone users could found themselves seriously out of pocket if they want to upgrade their device . Useless: The $850 Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 8 is designed to work with the current iPhone's design . The new port looks similar to micro . USB, the standard supported by all other phone manufacturers - however . it is very unlikely that Apple will support this standard, despite moves . by the EU to get all phone companies to rally around one type of cable. Apple's version has a triangle-shaped wedge at one end, which should stop users plugging in the cable the wrong way round. Mac . fans may spot a superficial similarity to a Firewire port, which is . used to transfer raw video footage and larger files at high speed. Obsolete: The B&W Zeppelin speaker, left, and the Bose Sounddock 10, right, are other pricey gadgets which will have to be upgraded before they will work with the iPhone 5 . The new port means older accessories will be rendered redundant unless adapters . are released to make them compatible again - which is likely to be an . ungainly solution, and may be impossible for some docks. The . 'nano-SIM' slot, containing the SIM card which connects a phone to the . carrier network, has also been redesigned to be thinner, although this . will be unlikely to cause much disruption to users as networks will . provide replacements SIMs if necessary. There . are also rumours, reported on iMore, that the iPad 3, which was . released in the Spring, will get a slight tweak this Autumn to brink the . dock connector in-line with the rest of the range. | 'All future Apple products' will sport new connector port from September, according to leaked Apple reports .
iPod Nano, iPod Touch, iPad Mini and future iPads all set for updates .
Changeover renders hundreds of accessories obsolete without adapters . |
fae39399183c85f8ef690237c5a807326e368055 | Sir Chris Hoy is to be honoured at Sunday's BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards. The cycling champion and Britain's most successful Olympian will receive a lifetime achievement award at the ceremony in Glasgow. Sir Chris, who recently became a father, will join the ranks of sporting greats Sir Steve Redgrave and Seve Ballesteros who previously received the honour. Former winner Sir Chris Hoy is to be honoured at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards on Sunday . The cycling champion and Britain's most successful Olympian will receive a lifetime achievement award . 2013: Sir Alex Ferguson (football) 2012: Lord Coe (athletics) 2011: Sir Steve Redgrave (rowing) 2010: David Beckham (football) 2009: Steve Ballesteros (golf) 2009: Sir Bobby Charlton (football) 2007: Sir Bobby Robson (football) 2006: Bjorn Borg (tennis) 2005: Pele (football) 2004: Sir Ian Botham (Cricket) The 38-year-old retired last year after capping his cycling career with a fifth and sixth Olympic gold at London 2012. It was following a hat-trick of medals at the Beijing games in 2008 that he was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year. The awards are being hosted in Scotland for the first time this year. Rory McIlroy and Lewis Hamilton will battle it out to win the prestigious title at the SSE Hydro after being confirmed among the shortlist of 10 contenders. Sir Chris, from Edinburgh, said: 'It's a huge honour to be receiving the lifetime achievement award. 'I never thought I'd see my name alongside the likes of Sir Steve Redgrave, David Beckham, Seve Ballesteros and others who've received this incredible honour, and it makes it even more special to be receiving the award in Scotland.' BBC Sport director Barbara Slater said: 'As a former BBC Sports Personality of the Year winner, Sir Chris Hoy has been a tremendous ambassador for sport and, although he has retired from cycling, continues to be an inspiration to young athletes. Hoy in action during the Men's Team Sprint Track Cycling final at London 2012 . Hoy retired last year after capping his cycling career with a fifth and sixth Olympic gold at London 2012 . 'It's fantastic that he is not only being recognised for his exceptional achievements, but also that it is being awarded to him in his home country.' McIlroy is odds-on favourite to become the first golfer to win the award since Nick Faldo in 1989 after helping Europe to Ryder Cup success. Hamilton's second Formula One world title in Abu Dhabi makes him another strong contender. Real Madrid star Gareth Bale, boxer Carl Froch, world gymnastics silver medallist Max Whitlock and multiple European and Commonwealth Games swimming gold medallist Adam Peaty are also up for the title. Winter Olympic gold medallist Lizzy Yarnold, veteran European athletics champion Jo Pavey, dressage rider Charlotte Dujardin and Britain's first Winter Paralympic champion Kelly Gallagher - with her guide Charlotte Evans - complete the nominations. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: 'Sir Chris Hoy is a wonderful ambassador not only for his sport, but for Scotland as well, and I am delighted that he is to receive this award in front of a home crowd. 'This award is testament to the commitment and drive Sir Chris has shown throughout his career, and he continues to show a passion for cycling by inspiring the next generation of sport stars. He is truly deserving of such an accolade and I join the many others in offering my warmest congratulations to him.' Rory McIlroy is odds-on favourite to become the first golfer to win the award since Nick Faldo in 1989 . | Sir Chris Hoy retired last year after capping his cycling career with a fifth and sixth Olympic gold at London 2012 .
The 38-year-old won BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2008 .
Rory McIlroy and Lewis Hamilton to battle for main award on Sunday . |
fae3c4b5aed8065e22c16d375871023f0d90d5a8 | By . Emily Allen . PUBLISHED: . 11:02 EST, 9 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 11:02 EST, 9 August 2012 . A multi-millionaire who spent £40,000 on a 'Tarzan' climbing frame for his children in the grounds of his country mansion has been ordered to move it - and says the work will cost up to £50,000. Father-of-five Dominic Wainford, a 44-year-old director whose London-based Wainford Holdings investment firm which has been valued at £30 million, owns historic Heathfield Park in Sussex, a Grade II* listed manor house set in 350 acres of landscaped grounds. He built the huge adventure playground for his children three years ago and says he was never told he needed planning approval. Not happy: Dominic Wainford next to the £40,000 climbing frame outside his home in Heathfield Park which he has to move as Wealden Council thinks it's 'bulk and visually unsympathetic' Now he’s been ordered by Wealden Council to rip it down, with planning officers saying he should have applied for consent and it is 'bulky and visually unsympathetic' and must be shifted. Mr Wainford has been forced to apply to the council for permission to dismantle it and move it almost 100 feet to the other side of his driveway - work he says will cost £50,000. He said: 'When we bought the climbing frame, we were told it didn’t need planning permission. You can’t see it from the road and if you had enough strong men you could lift it up, so I was surprised when a planning consultant said we needed permission.' The playground, which includes a timber play house, climbing frame and slide, is nearly 35 feet long and more than 13 feet high, with three chutes, two slides, bridges and swings. He said: 'I’ve got five small children from nine months old to seven years and we can see them playing from the window. Sometimes with their friends, there can be 50 children on there and moving it further from the house will make it less safe. 'By the time I’ve paid for planning consultants and everything, it could have cost me £50,000 to get the job done. On the move: The playground, which includes a timber . play house, climbing frame and slide, is nearly 35 feet long and more . than 13 feet high, with three chutes, two slides, bridges and swings but has to be relocated . 'I’d much rather have been told where to put it in the first place and given the money to charity. It’s not fixed to anything and we’re just very disappointed.' 'There’s no animosity towards the council but I’m very disappointed about the whole thing. There’s been some suggestions that we’ve done this deliberately, but that’s not the case. 'We’re going to have to change the drive, put some gates up, and change the flow of traffic, because our main concern is to protect the safety of the children, and where it’s going to is a less safe environment.' The revised planning application has been agreed by council officers using delegated powers. Heathfield and Waldron Parish Council clerk Diana Francis said: 'My council supports the revised application and considers it a more suitable site, which would not impact upon the listed building.' Tom Foxall, historic buildings inspector for English Heritage, said: 'We previously expressed serious concerns about the positioning of a large children’s play area to the east of the Grade II*-listed Heathfield Park, but do not wish to object to this revised proposal to re-site it.' A Wealden council spokesman said: 'A structure of this size so close to a Grade II* listed building and inside a Grade II historic park, requires planning permission because it dominates its surroundings. 'We have been taking enforcement action to have it moved. We are pleased the owner has now obtained planning permission to move the climbing frame to a location that is more in keeping with the historic landscape at Heathfield Park.' | Dominic Wainford built the playground for his children three years ago and says he was never told he needed planning approval .
Planning officials say the £40,000 structure is 'bulky and visually unsympathetic' and must be shifted . |
fae423da9da710db4513d94b23e8b5ca3437ec30 | MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- A leading critic of Kremlin-backed leaders in the Russian republic of Ingushetia was fatally shot Sunday while being taken to a police precinct by officers, Reporters without Borders said. Yevloyev was a critic of regional President Murat Zyazikov (left), seen here with Vladimir Putin. The authorities in the volatile province in southern Russia said Magomed Yevloyev was shot in the head accidentally while resisting arrest, the Paris-based non-governmental organization reported. Officials have launched a probe, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. Yevloyev was the owner of Ingushetiya.ru, a Web site that frequently took to task local leaders in Ingushetia, a small Russian republic bordering Chechnya in the North Caucasus, just north of Georgia. According to The Associated Press, the site's deputy editor Ruslan Khautiyev said that Yevloyev arrived in Ingushetia from Moscow on Sunday on the same plane as regional President Murat Zyazikov. He said the police blocked the jet on the runway after it landed in Ingushetia's provincial capital, Magas, boarded the plane and took Yevloyev off. Yevloyev was then whisked away in a car and later dumped at the side of a road with a gunshot wound to the head, he said. An impoverished province with a largely Muslim population, Ingushetiya has suffered for almost a decade from unrest spilling over from neighboring Chechnya. President Zyazikov's administration is battling a low-level Islamist insurgency, who launch frequent attacks on Russian servicemen and law enforcement officials. In response, Russia has launched a counterinsurgency campaign that has been criticized by human rights group for abuses such as arbitrary detentions and extra-judicial executions. Over the years, Yevloyev had fiercely criticized Zyazikov. Last year, he accused Zyazikov on his Web site of hiring hit-men to kill him, Reporters Without Borders said. -- CNN's Maxim Tkachenko contributed to this report. | Magomed Yevloyev arrested shortly after arriving in Ingushetia .
Yevloyev owned a Web site critical of Ingushetia government .
Site's Deputy editor: Yevloyev dumped at side of road with gunshot wound to the head .
Yevloyev had criticised police treatment of civilians in the region . |
fae4455372f4490ea6cfe0e4562526827594c41f | By . Emma Reynolds . PUBLISHED: . 04:08 EST, 19 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 05:29 EST, 21 June 2012 . Breaking the rules: Ghazala Javed performed songs in her native Pashto language despite the ban on singing and dancing . A beautiful pop singer who defied the Taliban's decree against music and dancing was shot dead after she left a beauty salon last night. Pakistani star Ghazala Javed, 24, was shot after a motorcyclist opened fire on a car she was in with her father, who was also killed. Police said that one of the suspects is her ex-husband, who she reportedly asked for a divorce after finding out he had at least one other wife. Her demand was a highly unusual one for a deeply conservative and male-dominated society where many consider a woman asking for divorce a dishonour to the husband. Ms Javed, who was popular with young, progressive ethnic Pashtuns in northwest Pakistan, was reportedly driving home with her father when a motorcycle raced towards their car and opened fire. She was hit with six bullets and and pronounced dead along with her father at a hospital in Peshawar, according to CNN. In recent years the rise of the Pakistani Taliban, who disagree with singing and dancing, made it difficult for Ms Javed and other artists to perform and record songs in the country. Ms Javed had started recording many of her songs and music videos, which she sang in her native Pashto language, in nearby Dubai. But early indications were that the Taliban were not involved in her shocking death, according to police official Imtiaz Altaf. Last year Ms Javed made headlines when . she left her husband to live at her father's home after just six months of marriage. Scroll down for video . Well-known: Ms Javed's music was popular with young, progressive ethnic Pashtuns in northwest Pakistan . Fraught relationship: Ms Javed's sister has blamed her husband for the attack by a mystery man on a motorbike, who sprayed a car with bullets and killed the singer and her father . Stop the music: The 24-year-old frequently went to Dubai to record her songs and videos because of the dangers from the Pakistani Taliban . 'Two men on a motorbike sprayed bullets and fled leaving them in a pool of blood,' said senior police officer Dilawar Bangash. 'We have registered a case and launched an investigation. The murder seems to be result of some internal dispute,' he added. Ms Javed married businessman Jahangir Khan in 2010 after fleeing to Peshawar in 2009 to escape the then Taliban-dominated northwestern district of Swat. He too tried to ban her from singing, her family said. Several years ago, another popular female singer, Ayman Udas, was killed - allegedly by her family. | Ghazala Javed was forced to record tracks in Dubai after ban on music . |
fae4e92d21ef19e4e8abad2ff489ed829f1c0d8d | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 03:35 EST, 17 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:27 EST, 17 April 2013 . When a fox burst into Deborah Ward's house she screamed as she scooped up her little girl Scarlett . A fox strayed into a house yesterday as a one-year-old baby girl played on the floor by herself. Deborah Ward, 41, from Norfolk, screamed as she scooped up her little girl Scarlett and ran out into the street as it careered round her home. Her neighbour, Tony Cooper, 69, dashed to help her as he chased the animal out of the house with a broom. The drama came just weeks after an . urban fox targeted five-week-old Denny Dolan in a horrific attack and . ripped off one of his fingers in Bromley, Kent. Mrs Ward said the fox got within inches of her daughter Scarlett at their home in Little Melton, Norfolk. Deborah . said: 'It was just so out of the blue. It was petrifying. I had just . hung out my washing in the garden and my one-year-old was at the back . door playing with the washing machine. 'I . didn't know anything about it until I heard an enormous crash behind me . when this massive fox came skidding through the room and bounced off my . oven. 'It was definitely a male one because it was so big and was pooing all over the house.' The . mother-of-two added: 'It was obviously scared and trying to get away. It did a circuit of the house looking for somewhere to escape, and was . jumping up at the windows to try and get through. 'I just screamed and grabbed my one-year-old and got out of the house.' Mrs . Ward thought about calling her husband Kevin to go and help but he . worked half an hour away. Neighbour Mr Cooper then rushed to her aid. 'I . ran outside and my neighbour, who is an ex-farmer, came through with a . broom to get rid of it. It had got itself cornered in the downstairs . bathroom, so it was tricky to get it out because it was a bit scared. 'It was just so unexpected. I had seen this fox once before and it is so brazen it walks around in the middle of the road,' said Mrs Ward. Mrs Ward's husband Kevin snapped this fox - who may be the culprit - prowling outside their home in December . 'Not really a significant threat': David North, head of people and wildlife at Norfolk Wildlife Trust, said fox attacks were very rare (file picture) 'My husband has seen this one before and took a photo of it when it was standing in the road, bold as brass, staring him down. 'Because my children sleep in the cots during the day, if it had taken a different turning and had found the other children sleeping I don't know what it might have done. 'I am so grateful it went past Scarlett. Scarlett was fine, and I don't think she even noticed, but I could not see her. The first I knew about it was when it bounced off the oven behind me. 'I don't want to be shut up in my house forever as a result of this, and luckily it is very unusual. My garage door was open so the fox had a clear path through the house. Usually I do not have both doors open. 'It was a very rare chain of events, and I just can't believe it really. You think your children are safe in your own garden, but this thing came through at such a pace, and that was what alarmed me. 'It was running at full pelt. That just added to my panic.' Mr Cooper said: 'I was just outside cleaning my pick-up truck when Deborah came running out with the baby. I took the broom out of the garage for protection, but I didn't really need it because it was more frightened of me than I was of it. 'We do have a fox problem in the area, and people can't leave their chickens out in the open because they will be gone. I just did what anyone would do in that situation. 'People should be aware though because some people feed these foxes and they get very tame.' David North, head of people and wildlife at Norfolk Wildlife Trust, said fox attacks were very rare. But he warned that people should be wary of feeding urban foxes and taming them. Mr North said: 'Foxes are not really a significant threat. It could be that people make them conditioned to human contact, which can become dangerous. 'But there are thousands of cases of dogs attacking people every year. People should not lose any sleep over this. It is extremely rare for a fox to come inside someone's house.' | Deborah Ward, 41, scooped up her little girl Scarlett and ran out .
The mother, from Norfolk, said fox got within inches of her daughter .
Drama just weeks after fox ripped off baby's finger in Bromley, Kent . |
fae51375668a54d1cace45baf5edb1d790567878 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . Swiss surgeons have successfully rebuilt the noses of five skin cancer patients using their own tissue. The team rebuilt patients’ nostrils using a revolutionary technique in which cells were taken from their nasal septum. One year later, all recipients were satisfied with their ability to breathe as well as the cosmetic appearance, and did not report any side effects. Growing noses: The Swiss team grew white, glossy cartilage in the laboratory after taking cells from the patients' nasal septum, and were able to build new nostrils for five skin cancer patients . The nose is the most common place for skin cancers other than melanoma, because of its exposure to sunlight. Surgeons are often forced to cut away parts of cartilage from the nasal septum, ear or rib as grafts to functionally reconstruct the area from where the tumour has been removed. But this painful and invasive procedure involves major additional surgery, and has been associated with complications at the site from which cartilage has been removed. The Swiss researchers attempted an alternative method by extracting the cartilage cells, called chondrocytes, from the nasal septum of each patient. Success: None of the five patients suffered any side effects from their new noses one year later (stock image) After multiplying the cells using growth factors for two weeks, they were seeded onto collagen membranes that act as a framework or scaffold for new tissue and cultured in the lab for a further fortnight. This generated cartilage 40 times larger than the original biopsy. When the engineered grafts were ready they were shaped according to the defect and implanted, reports The Lancet. Professor Ivan Martin, from the University of Basel in Switzerland, said: ‘The engineered cartilage had clinical results comparable to the current standard surgery. 'This new technique could help the . body to accept the new tissue better and to improve the stability and . functionality of the nostril. 'Our . success is based on the long-standing, effective integration in Basel . between our experimental group at the Department of Biomedicine and the . surgical disciplines at the University Hospital.’ He . said the breakthrough opens the way to using engineered cartilage for . more challenging reconstructions in facial surgery such as the complete . nose, eyelid or ear. The same engineered grafts are currently being tested in a parallel study for articular cartilage repair in the knee. However, . Prof Martin added: ‘Despite this optimism, the use of these procedures . in the routine clinical practice is still rather distant, as it requires . rigorous assessment of efficacy on larger cohorts of patients, and the . development of business models and manufacturing paradigms that will . guarantee cost effectiveness.’ | Swiss surgeons successfully rebuild five skin cancer victim's noses .
Doctors used skin cells from the patients' septum to build nostrils .
One year later no patient had any side effects and could breathe normally .
Back to Mail Online home .
Back to the page you came from . |
fae52a5262fb3e5bbc7cf342a100c7fbcb2b9de5 | Arsenal forward Theo Walcott believes it is like having new signings at the club as the Gunners continue to welcome first-team stars back from injury. Walcott scored after just two minutes as Arsenal defeated Brighton 3-2 on Sunday in only his second start following a year on the sidelines with a cruciate ligament injury. With midfielders Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil - who also found the back of the net - also returning to the Gunners first-team in recent weeks after lengthy spells out injured, Walcott believes Arsenal's squad is getting back to it's best. Theo Walcott claims it is like having new signings as Arsenal continiue to welcome star men back from injury . Walcott and Mesut Ozil (right) both found the net against Brighton following lengthy spells on the sidelines . 'To be honest, it's like having new signings,' the 25-year-old told BT Sport after Arsenal secured their passage to the FA Cup fifth round at the Amex Stadium. 'Mesut got his goal and the sharpness will come with games. We have a great squad when everyone is fit. Having reached the fifth round of the FA Cup and with Monaco to face in the last 16 of the Champions League, Walcott is confident Arsenal will challenge for trophies. 'We can compete for anything this year,' said Walcott. 'There is a competition for places and it will be a headache for the manager to pick his best 11.' Walcott (second left) celebrates with his team-mates during Arsenal's FA Cup victory against Brighton . The 25-year-old believes Arsenal can 'compete for anything' as competition for places grows among the squad . After Chelsea, Tottenham and Man City were all knocked out of the FA Cup on Saturday, many believe Arsenal's chances of another Wembley victory have increased. Should the Gunners go all the way in the competition, Arsene Wenger would become the first manager in the modern era to win the trophy six times. Asked if it is a personal landmark he is striving for, the Frenchman smiled: 'Well I would love to (win the FA Cup). Let's wait for the draw and go from the next round.' Meanwhile, Wenger confirmed Villarreal defender Gabriel Paulista's switch to the Emirates is expected to be completed on Monday. Asked of the reports claiming Paulista's deal is all but done, Wenger replied: 'They (reports) are accurate. It is very, very close and it should be done tomorrow.' Arsene Wenger is one FA Cup triumph away from claiming a modern day record of six wins in the competition . The Arsenal manager confirmed Gabriel Paulista's switch to north London should completed done on Monday . | Theo Walcott scored first Arsenal goal following a year on the sidelines .
The 25-year-old believes return of star men is like 'having new signings'
Gunners defeated Brighton to progress to fifth round of the FA Cup . |
fae59c258be18f4da959d2ccbdc2f6bce65c212a | At least three young Minnesota women are now believed to have traveled to Syria to give aid to the ISIS terror group responsible for the brutal beheadings of American journalists, MailOnline has learned. The trio left some three weeks ago, Omar Jamal, a leader of the Somali community in the state capital, St. Paul, tells MailOnline. They said they intended to become nurses tending to fighters injured in ISIS' violent surge in Syria and Iraq. The news comes as 19-year-old suburban Denver woman Shannon Conley who federal authorities say intended to wage jihad has pleaded guilty to trying to help the Islamic State militant group in Syria. American girl: Colorado teen Shannon Conley pleaded guilty to terror charges in Denver federal court today after her April arrest for trying to flee the country and join ISIS . Searching: Conley (pictured on the right, with a friend) tried out several different religions in college before selecting Islam . Abroad, police fear two young girls who fled Austria are inspiring other teenagers to join Islamic State ranks after they successfully fled the country saying they were going to Syria. Samra Kesinovic was aged just 16 and her friend Sabina Selimovic 15 when the two vanished this year from their homes in the Austrian capital Vienna. The case of one of the Minnesota girls, a 19-year-old, has already been widely reported, after the girl's family called the FBI, but Jamal said he believes at least two more girls have gone to the Middle East hotspot. 'Their identity is not known because their families have not contacted the authorities,' said Jamal. 'They have gone to Syria but as there are no official reports of them we do not know who they are.' The shocking new revelation comes as MailOnline can reveal that the FBI has subpoenaed the 19-year-old girl's family to appear before a Grand Jury later this month, as authorities attempt to discover who bought her ticket, gave her money and provided her with a false passport. There is no suggestion that the family is under criminal investigation, said one law enforcement source with knowledge of the subpoena. 'They are looking for evidence on exactly what the family knows,' said the source. Included in the subpoena is a demand for cell phone records as the girl called her brother from Turkey and later, after she crossed the border, from Syria. Teen jihadis: Left is Samra Kesinovic, 16, who is thought to have fled to Syria to join the Islamic State from Austria. On the right is 15-year-old Sabina Selimovic who went with her . Austrian teens: Samra Kesinovic and Sabina Selimovic in a photo they posted online. Police now fear the two are inspiring other girls to flee to Syria to take up holy war . However, Jamal said the girl's family is worried about what may happen at the Grand Jury hearing and feels 'betrayed' by the FBI's action as it believed it had done the right thing by contacting authorities in the first place while the families of the two unidentified girls do not have to appear. FBI's Minnesota spokesman Kyle Loven told MailOnline he 'is not in a position to comment' on the subpoena because the case of the missing girl is an ongoing investigation. 'I cannot confirm and will not deny its existence,' he said. The teen, who turns 20 next month, was about to start nursing classes at St. Paul College but decided to leave to give aid to wounded fighters. Jamal said he is sure she will not be placed into front line battle but it is possible she would be married off to one of the ISIS fighters. She is the middle of five children brought up by a single Somali mother, living off St. Paul's Selby Avenue. She had recently started taking classes at al-Farook Youth and Family Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, said Bob Fletcher, a former sheriff in St. Paul, who has dedicated himself to helping the Twin Cities' large Somali community since being defeated in an election in 2010. Al-Farook has been at the center of claims that Amir Meshal, an alleged recruiter for ISIS, had been talking to youngsters on its site. The mosque kicked the New Jersey-born man off campus, but now the Minneapolis-St. Paul Fox TV station has raised questions of whether Meshal is actually an FBI mole rather than an ISIS recruiter. Possible recruiting ground: Al-Farook has been at the center of claims that Amir Meshal, an alleged recruiter for ISIS, had been talking to youngsters on its site . 'What we don't know is whether al-Farook is part of the problem or part of the solution right now,' said Jamal. 'And who is Amir Meschal? Where did he come from? Did he recruit these girls?' Meshal sued the FBI in federal court in 2009 claiming he was tortured and held for four months in three different countries after being apprehended crossing the Somali border into Kenya. The young woman who is known to have gone to Syria traveled on a 'borrowed' passport. However the passport holder did not report it was missing until the girl had already entered Syria, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported. In the family's only comments, a male relative asked in the Star-Tribune: 'How many more kids have to die before we do something about it? 'Those animals who are taking our children are what we’re concerned about. We love this country more than anything else. I love America. We don’t want to see anything bad happen here. This is the most dangerous thing happening to this country.' ISIS has rocketed to infamy over the summer due to its savage rampage through Iraq and Syria where it has murdered thousands of civilians and soldiers. American journalists Jim Foley and Steven Sotloff were both beheaded in videos that the group distributed to the west. Despite the violent imagery, Fletcher, the retired sheriff, said recruitment to ISIS is appealing to young Muslims because they get the feeling they are in at the start of something new, an Islamic state, hat they believe can offer them a future they fail to see in America. 'Many Somalis are struggling as their transition to the American life has been difficult. They have been here a shorter time than most immigrants and their arrival coincided with a downturn in the economy so many have not been able to find work. 'Many also came here without fathers, who had either been killed in the war or did not make the trip, so on occasion the extremist religious leader becomes their father-figure.' He said that going to be a nurse in an ISIS stronghold like Raqqa in northern Syria is also attractive because it is portrayed as relatively stable away from the frontline battle and a place where volunteers can start to build the infrastructure of a new city. | Three girls left Minnesota three weeks ago to join ISIS insurgents in Syria .
Their identities have not yet been revealed .
The FBI has subpoenaed a 19-year-old girl's family to appear before a Grand Jury later this month .
She was about to start nursing classes at St. Paul College but decided to leave to give aid to wounded fighters .
The girl is one of five children to a single mother originally from Somalia .
She had recently started taking classes at al-Farook Youth and Family Center, an alleged recruiting ground for ISIS . |
fae5cfb13fdebbce867804b60be303133ae683c0 | (CNN) -- When my publisher first suggested the title for my new book, "Work Like A Spy" I bristled. Being called a spy is a pet peeve shared by everyone I know in the intelligence community, after all. So, to set the record straight, CIA officers are not spies — a spy is someone who commits espionage against his own country. CIA officers recruit spies. Semantic quibbling aside, the primary purpose of the CIA's clandestine service is to identify and then to recruit sources of intelligence. Spies. Done well, this yields the sort of information that can change policy, shape strategy, and even save lives. But individuals who have access to the sort of information sought by the CIA are few and far between. Individuals who have both the access and a willingness to provide said information to the U.S. government are even rarer still, and this dearth of suitable candidates presents constant challenges. It can be said, then, that the CIA knows a thing or two about finding and recruiting the right people. So, although the CIA's version of recruitment may involve higher stakes and greater risks than the corporate version, there are still business lessons to be learned from the recruitment practices used in the clandestine world. Here are a few: . Know the gaps . Every case officer in every posting around the globe has a deeply ingrained sense of mission, and that mission is spelled out in the form of requirements. In a nutshell, these are the ever-changing and rank-ordered intelligence gaps in need of filling. Issues related to terrorism top everyone's list, of course, as do a number of other global topics. But other requirements may be specific to the region in which the officer works, or even the officer's specific area of expertise. A case officer in one part of the world may concentrate on long-range missile programs, whereas an officer on the other side of the globe may focus more on political reporting. These requirements guide CIA officers during every networking opportunity, every meeting and every chance encounter, helping them determine if and how to proceed. Be honest, are the leaders of your organization similarly aware of the skill gaps impacting your company's success? And, if so, are they prepared to seek out those skills during every networking opportunity? Too often, recruiting is viewed as little more than a list of current job openings managed exclusively by the HR department. But just imagine being able to tap into the collective social and business networks of every employee in your organization. The pool of talent that such a meta-network can yield has the added benefit of built-in screening by the people you already trust. Identify your targets . The intelligence gaps I just mentioned are also used in a more active way — to initiate and drive targeting efforts. More specifically, when critical information is needed, teams of officers from both the analytical and the operational sides of the CIA set about identifying exactly who might be able to provide the answers and fill the gaps. These individuals are then systematically targeted for recruitment. Corporate recruitment practices, on the other hand, tend to be passive: a job vacancy is posted, and respondents are screened. Even relatively proactive efforts such as attendance at job fairs or college recruiting events rely on job seekers making the first move. Instead, consider adopting targeting techniques from the CIA to identify those individuals who are instrumental to your competitors' success. These are the people you want on your team; these are the people you want to hire. Before you raise an ethical objection to "stealing" employees, remind yourself that your competitors will quite cheerfully steal your customers. Assess motivation . For every spy who demands an exorbitant sum in exchange for sensitive data, there's another who would do it for free simply because he believes that it's the right thing to do. There are as many reasons for spying as there are spies, and it's a CIA officer's job to understand and cater to specific motivations. The recruitment approach that would appeal to someone who yearns for the sense of adventure and intrigue afforded by working with the CIA would almost certainly fail to persuade an individual motivated by more ideological matters. The business world would be well served by the same degree of sensitivity to specific motivations, especially when it comes to critical skill sets. Everyone knows that salaries are negotiable, but the corporate world is still largely reluctant to negotiate other terms of employment. We've acknowledged the benefits and the appeal of flexible work hours and conditions for decades now, but it's the rare organization that uses its full arsenal of motivating forces to lure the top talent from their competitors. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of J.C. Carleson. | CIA recruitment techniques can be applied to corporate life .
Be proactive and don't be afraid to poach talent, says Carleson .
Identify different motivations to recruit top talent . |
fae5d7c8c54844e05e350457890bac6462ec6060 | (CNN)Prominent Bangladeshi-American blogger Avijit Roy began one of his final articles by writing that January's Charlie Hebdo massacre in France was "a tragic atrocity committed by soldiers of the so-called religion of peace." He recalled the case of another secular blogger, Ahmed Rajib Haider, who was hacked to death outside his home in Bangladesh in February 2013 by assailants with machetes. "The virus of faith was the weapon that made these atrocities possible," Roy wrote in the article, which is to be published in Free Inquiry magazine in April. On Thursday night, the engineer and writer known for speaking out for secular freedom died after being attacked by machete-wielding assailants in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka, a local police official said. Roy, the founder of the website Mukto-Mona, and his wife were assaulted as they walked back from a speaking engagement, said Krishna Pada Roy, a deputy commissioner with the Dhaka police. Police were investigating a "local hard-line religious group" that praised the killing online, the BBC reported. Ajay Roy, Avijit's father, filed a case of murder with the Shahbagh police on Friday without naming suspects. The father, a retired professor at Dhaka University, later told reporters his son was killed by extremist and communal groups backed by Jamaat-e-Islami, the main Islamist political party in the country. Avijit Roy had received death threats several times for posting his views on blog, his father said. Jamaat-e-Islami, however, protested Ajay Roy's statement and demanded punishment of the killers. Shahbagh police officer-in-charge Sirajul Islam said, "The nature of the attack suggests a fanatic group might have been behind the murder." Images published Friday on the blog of another prominent writer from Bangladesh show Roy, surrounded by onlookers, lying face down in a pool of blood. "Bangladesh has become a safe haven for Islamists where they can do whatever they like," Taslima Nasreen, who had to leave Bangladesh after receiving death threats from extremists, wrote in her blog. "They can kill people with no qualms whatsoever. Avijit Roy has been killed the way other free-thinking writers were killed in Bangladesh. No free thinker is safe in Bangladesh." Roy died at a nearby hospital, the police official said. His wife suffered injuries of her own, including a severed finger. The attackers carried knives and machetes. A witness said an assailant pulled out "a big knife" and struck Roy from behind in the head and shoulders. Roy's wife, Rafida Ahmed Bonna, also was hacked on the shoulders. "I shouted for help from the people but nobody came to save him," the witness told CNN. "No one came." Last year, an Islamist activist said that Roy "will be murdered when he comes back" to Bangladesh, the author wrote in the Free Inquiry article. Roy reported such threats on his life, according to people who knew him. Despite threats, the writer regularly returned to Bangladesh for the February book fairs, said Michael De Dora, a friend of Roy's. "Avijit was very idealistic," he said. "His understanding was that he wouldn't be killed, that if anyone ever tried to attack him or hated him, that they could just kind of have a chat and he would convince them ... that they could at least have a dialogue." De Dora said Roy, who was an American citizen, reported last year's threat to the FBI, but the author was skeptical of alerting Bangladeshi authorities. "For him, even if he was getting threats that he thought were serious, to not be able to go back to his home country and meet with activists and other bloggers and writers would be kind of horrible thought for him," De Dora said. As in France after Islamic extremists murdered 12 people at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, Roy's killing has generated public outcry and demonstrations in Bangladesh. "Dhaka University is a cradle of exercising free thoughts and democracy," Dhaka University Teachers Association (DUTA) said, according to the national news agency of Bangladesh, BSS. "For these reasons, the communal extremists chose the university campus to launch attacks on persons of progressive conscience." In the Free Inquiry article, Roy wrote compared religious extremism to "a highly contagious virus." When his book, "The Virus of Faith," was released at a book fair last year, he wrote that the publication "hit the cranial nerve of Islamic fundamentalists," who started threatening his life. "The death threats started flowing to my e-mail inbox on a regular basis," Roy wrote. "A well-known extremist ... openly issued death threats to me through through his numerous Facebook statuses." In one widely-circulated post, Roy quotes the extremist as writing, "Avijit Roy lives in America and so, it is not possible to kill him right now. But he will be murdered when he comes back." The Charlie Hebdo massacre, the threats on his life, the removal of his books from a Bangladesh online bookstore after pressure from extremists prove that "the virus of faith is dangerously real," Roy wrote. Roy and his wife were attacked on the Dhaka University campus as they were leaving a book fair where Roy had spoken. Based out of the Atlanta area, Roy was a "prominent defender of the free thought movement (and) advocate of atheism, science and metaphysical naturalism," according to his website. He authored seven books and his writings were also featured in numerous magazines and journals. The couple has a daughter, Trisha Ahmed, a student at Johns Hopkins University, De Dora said. Roy's outspokenness, especially on matters of religion, made him a target in Bangladesh, where nearly 90% of people are Muslim and 10% are Hindu, according to the U.S. government. A September 2013 blog post by Roy was headlined, "Happy Blasphemy Day, Happy Birthday 'Mukto Mona.'" Roy wrote that the day is "dedicated to those who are systematically being persecuted, harassed, or killed for their simple expression of Freethought (more precisely, for their 'blasphemous' views towards religion)." Countries such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Bangladesh have "retained social ideas that are reminiscent of the medieval age," when blasphemy laws were "equated with sin," the author wrote. In Bangladesh, bloggers were jailed "on the sole basis that they were openly atheist," he wrote. In Pakistan, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom reported at least 203 incidents of violence "in the name of religion," resulting in more than 700 deaths in an 18-month period. In Saudi Arabia, he wrote, a 19-year-old gang-rape victim was sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in jail for "indecency" and speaking to the press. "The nonbelievers in these Islamic countries face the most severe treatment at the hands of both mullahs and the state," Roy wrote. De Dora, director of the Amherst, New York-based Center for Inquiry's office of public policy, called the author's death "a great loss." "Avijit was brilliant, yes, and a devoted advocate of free expression and secularism, but also just a very good person," he said in a statement. "Avijit was an inspiration to countless other freethinkers, in Bangladesh and around the world, and he was an inspiration to me." Bangladeshi Health and Family Welfare Minister Mohammad Nasim condemned the killing and called for the "expeditious nabbing of the killers and their exemplary punishment," the BSS news agency reported. Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu "expressed deep sorrow and sympathy at the untimely death" on the same news site. Jadabeswar Bhattacharjee, a contributor to Mukto-Mona, posted Friday that Roy had been killed by "some brain-dead Islamist bigots." "I have no word to condemn this heinous crime perpetuated by these Islamist cowards," he wrote. "When such Islamist cowards failed in intellectual discourse with Avijit and when they found that their dogma has been proved hollow by Avijit, they settled the score by murdering him." Bob Churchill, a spokesman for the London-based International Humanist and Ethical Union, said the "loss is keenly felt by freethinkers and humanists in South Asia and around the world" and called Roy "a colleague in humanism and a friend to all who respect human rights, freedom, and the light of reason." The IHEU said in a statement that an Islamist activist "well-known" to authorities early last year threatened Roy and "repeatedly and openly talked about wanting to see secular and freethought writers dead." "Those under threat have complained that authorities have ignored his threats and incitement, despite his credible links to Islamist extremists and similar murders taking place," the statement said. There was no immediate response to the claim from authorities in Bangladesh. CNN's Lonzo Cook, Greg Botelho, Farid Ahmed and John Couwels contributed to this report. | Victim's father says extremists backed by Bangladesh's main Islamist party killed his son .
Police: Avijit Roy died after being attacked on a street in Dhaka, Bangladesh . |
fae5e00a18b9c58b12b859e47018ca276e8e260f | Washington (CNN) -- The Supreme Court will hear the case of a frequent flier labeled a frequent complainer by one airline. Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg claims his WorldPerks Platinum Elite membership was revoked after being told he had "abused" his privileges, repeatedly filing complaints for upgrades and other benefits. Northwest Airlines, which was consumed by Delta Air Lines in a 2008 merger, said it had "sole judgment" over the program's general terms and conditions to make such determinations. At issue is whether Ginsberg has a right under state law to bring his case or whether it is preempted by the 1970s-era law that deregulated the airline industry. That law prohibits parties from bringing similar state claims against airlines relating to a "price, route, or service" of the carrier. Ginsberg is dean of Torah Academy in Minneapolis and travels frequently to lecture and teach. He joined Northwest's WorldPerks frequent flier program in 1999 and reached Platinum Elite status in 2005. But in June of 2008, Ginsberg claimed a Northwest representative called him and told him his status was being revoked on grounds that he "abused" the program, according to court papers. Ginsberg said the airline also took away the hundreds of thousands of miles accumulated in his account. "It didn't make sense. Initially, when they contacted me on the phone I thought it was a prank call," Ginsberg told CNN. "When I pushed for a reason and clarification, they told me it was because I was complaining too much." A month after that call, Northwest sent the rabbi a letter noting that he had made 24 complaints in the past eight months, including nine incidents of his bag arriving late at the luggage carousel, according to court papers. "You have continually asked for compensation over and above our guidelines. We have awarded you $1,925 in travel credit vouchers, 78,500 WorldPerks bonus miles, a voucher extension for your son, and $491 in cash reimbursements," the letter said, according to court papers. "Due to our past generosity, we must respectfully advise that we will no longer be awarding you compensation each time you contact us." Ginsberg's lawyers countered the rabbi and his wife had been averaging about 75 flights on Northwest each year, and that Ginsberg estimated that only about 10 percent of the trips had resulted in a call to Northwest's customer care. "I don't think I was a frequent complainer," Ginsberg said. "They should have taken their time and analyzed: Were my complaints legitimate? Should they be doing something to improve their service and quality of product? Instead of worrying, we've got to shut up somebody who is complaining too much." Later that fall, Northwest sent Ginsberg an e-mail, in which the airline quoted a paragraph from the fine print of the WorldPerks Program. It stated that Northwest could determine "in its sole judgment" whether a passenger has abused the program, and that abuse "may result in cancellation of the member's account and future disqualification from program participation, forfeiture of all mileage accrued and cancellation of previously issued but unused awards." Ginsberg sued for $5 million over a breach of contract in January 2009, but a federal judge in San Diego dismissed the class action suit, agreeing with Northwest that the Airline Deregulation Act preempted his claim. The airline's lawyers also argued that the WorldPerks general terms and conditions did not require Northwest to provide frequent fliers with lengthy explanations or reasons for its decision to terminate or demote a member's status in the program. But in 2011, a federal appeals court in San Francisco reversed, ordered it to reconsider Ginsberg's class action claims. It said that when Congress passed the deregulation law, it did not intend to "immunize the airline industry from liability for common law contract claims." There was no immediate comment from Delta to the high court accepting its appeal. Ginsberg -- who is still a frequent flier, but is no longer loyal to any one airline -- said he is hoping to get his miles back, have his status reinstated, and get fair compensation for what he's gone through. "To me, it's outright fraud. You can't take somebody's mileage away when they've accumulated it," he said. "We live in a country that was built on freedom and this to me is a tremendous abuse of freedom." The case is Northwest, Inc. v. Ginsberg (12-462). CNN's A. Pawlowski contributed to this report. | Minnesota rabbi was a frequent flier on Northwest Airlines .
Carrier said he logged too many complaints and dropped his loyalty account .
Court to hear jurisdictional issue stemming from law that deregulated airlines . |
fae60ecabebe8b17fa0184a8872e07f0c6a2fc25 | Tottenham once offered to sell Gareth Bale to German side Hamburg in a £5million deal, former Spurs boss Martin Jol has revealed. Jol, who was in charge of the Bundesliga club during the 2008-09 season, says Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy offered the then teenage prodigy to him after the club grew frustrated at his inconsistent performances and series of injury problems. It was the Dutchman who helped lure the Wales star to the club in a £7million deal from Southampton in 2007, during his time in the White Hart Lane hotseat. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Bale fool James Rodriguez and Marcelo with disguised pass . Wales superstar Gareth Bale was once offered to other clubs for £5million while he was at Tottenham . Bale's raw potential eventually became realised at Spurs during his six seasons at the club. Initally bought as a left back, Bale grew into a maurading left winger that saw Spanish giants Real Madrid sign him in record-breaking £85m where he won the Champions league in his debut season. However Jol told talkSPORT, Bale's outcome at Spurs could have a lot different. 'Spurs saw Bale as a left back, but he probably wasn’t the best left-back in the world,' he said. 'He was more creative, he had electric pace, so everybody saw that he was more suited as a forward player, and Harry Redknapp saw that later on. Bale (left) initially struggled at Tottenham following a £7million move from Southampton in 2007 . Bale's (right) eventually became one of Tottenham's best players as he realised his potential . "I saw his potential straight away, but other people didn’t see that in the early stages of his career and that led to Spurs offering Bale to me when I went to Hamburg. 'We had to pay a lot of money to get him though, about five or six million, which we couldn’t afford at the time. 'I then asked Daniel Levy if we could take him on loan instead, but at that time it was not possible. 'So yes, Hamburg could have bought Bale for £5million because, of course, he was not playing at that moment. 'He couldn’t get into the side, so Spurs offered him to other clubs.' Bale (right) joined Real Madrid in a £85m deal last season, helping the club win their 10th European Cup . | Martin Jol was in charge of Hamburg between 2008-2009 .
Jol revealed that Tottenham offered to sell Gareth Bale to him for £5 million .
Levy offered the now Real Madrid superstar away after a series of injury problems and inconsistent performances had frustrated the London club .
Bale was instead sold to Real Madrid for a record-breaking £85 million . |
fae69f23ddc72bd1526ce5d9133242c173ceaa33 | Dozens of Chinese mothers are giving birth to their babies in a house atop a hill in a wealthy neighborhood of Chino Hills, California - and they're paying thousands of dollars for the privilege. Neighbors say the home is a 'maternity mansion,' a hotel where Chinese women stay for the last few months of their pregnancy so their children are born on American soil - and are therefore American citizens. Experts say the practice is widespread and that authorities are nearly powerless to stop it. The 14th Amendment guarantees that any person born in the United States is an American citizen and is afforded all the rights granted by the Constitution. Maternity mansion: Neighbors say this seven bedroom home is used as a make-shift hospital for Chinese mothers who want to give birth to babies in America . Cheat sheet: The house is owned by a man who runs AsiamChild.com, a site that sells space for Chinese mothers to give birth to their babies on American soil . 'I do believe they are taking advantage of a loophole that has been found. Because what I understand after doing my research and homework is that it is an epidemic and it's nationwide,' Rossana Mitchell, a Chino Hills resident who is trying to shut down the 'maternity mansion' in her neighborhood, told KABC-TV. The Chino Hills home is owned by Hai Yong Wu, a Chinese national who operates the website AsiamChild.com. The website says that for $5,000 to $15,000, Chinese women can stay for the remainder of their pregnancies in the seven-bedroom home and give birth to their child on U.S. soil. The Chinese-language site also includes tips on how expectant mothers can hide their pregnancies from U.S. customs officials. The site suggests women wear black and put a backpack or a bag in front of their bulging stomachs. Offer: The website explains to parents how to take advantage of welfare services in the U.S. Creepy: Locals are hoping to shut down the exploitative service based in southern California . It also lists the benefits of being a U.S. citizen, including the social safety net, free education and a path for citizenship for the parents when the child turns 21. 'They're selling U.S. citizenship. They're putting a price on it and they're bringing people over here specifically for that reason,' Sandy Hayden, another Chino Hills resident, told KABC. The city of Chino Hills has issued the owner a cease and desist order - though the only recourse is charging a zoning violation for operating a hotel in a residential area. Otherwise, the practice appears to be entirely legal. The concept of 'anchor babies' briefly became an issue during discussions of illegal immigration. Some conservatives feared illegal Mexican immigrants were having children in the country in an effort to insulate them from deportation. | Home in Chino Hills rented out to Chinese women who want their children to be U.S. citizens .
Outraged local residents campaign for officials to crack down on landlord .
Experts say it is impossible to stop practice thanks to 14th Amendment . |
fae70daef288d03c57effcea86c20aa38f068433 | (CNN) -- The number of Americans fighting off hunger stayed level last year, though food insecurity rates remain the highest they have been since the federal government began keeping track 15 years ago, a Department of Agriculture report released Monday found. About 14.7 percent of U.S. households were "food insecure" in 2009, meaning they had difficulty feeding one or more of their members at some point last year due to a lack of financial resources, according to the report. That equates to 17.4 million households total, or roughly 45 million people. This year's rate marked a slight increase in percentage from 2008, when 14.6 percent of American households had trouble putting food on the table. The situation was especially dire for more than one-third of those households -- 6.8 million total, equating to 5.7 percent of all U.S. households -- that the report's four authors classified as having "very low food security." This number, too, changed little in 2009 compared to the previous year. A lack of resources prompted one or more members of these households to eat much less or otherwise adjust their eating patterns. The typical household in this category struggled with food issues for at least a few days a month over seven months of the year, the report said. Households headed by single parents were more likely to struggle with food insecurity than those with two parents at home. Hunger-related issues were more prevalent among African-American and Hispanic households than white ones, the study found. Access to food was also more common in large cities than in rural areas, exurbs or suburbs. Most of those classified as "food insecure" reported getting benefits from the federal government's three main anti-hunger initiatives: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the National School Lunch Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, better known as WIC. In a press release, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that 18.7 percent more people had participated in the former program in 2009 over 2008. Rates also rose for the "free lunch" program (up 5.4 percent) and WIC (up 5.8 percent). "This report highlights just how critical federal nutrition assistance programs are for American families," USDA Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon said in a statement. The annual report from the Economic Research Service extrapolated from surveys of 46,000 households conducted on the Department of Agriculture's behalf by the U.S. Census Bureau. People responded to questions such as their ability to afford balanced meals, whether they adjusted the size of meals due to lack of money, or if they ever went hungry due to a lack of financial resources. | "Food insecurity" rates in the U.S. changed little from 2008 to 2009, a report says .
Levels of fighting hunger are as high as they've been since record-keeping began .
Participation in federal food assistance programs increased over the past year . |
fae71848a9df22432c98eeadaa08eb3027db8851 | They had sworn their loyalty to her . father. They risked their necks in his name, too. There was only one . guest of honour they all really wanted to see yesterday. And her bow to . them and to their fallen comrades said it all. If . the protocol and the crowd control fell short (to be honest, at times . it fell apart), it certainly didn’t bother the Queen as she was thronged . by her father’s men yesterday. And . after a day of emotion, frantic diplomacy – enlivened by the presence . of both the Russian and Ukrainian leaders – and some delightfully barmy . French theatricals, the 70th anniversary of D-Day concluded last night . with a forceful and personal speech from the Queen. Cheers: The Queen toasts President Hollande during the state banquet held at Elysee Palace in Paris. In a powerful concluding speech, she said 'Everything we do, we do for the young' Toast: The Royal raised her glass with the French leader at the elaborate venue. She also said: 'Each year has compounded in Europe the benefits of our victory in the Second World War' Tribute: Hollande said HRH 'personified the phrase Keep Calm and Carry On' in a warm toast at the event . Conversation: The Queen listened carefully to Mr Hollande during the banquet - where foie gras was served . ‘The true measure of all our actions . is how long the good in them lasts,’ she declared. ‘Each year has . compounded in Europe the benefits of our victory in the Second World . War. Seen in that light, those heroic deeds will stand out as much in . 700 years as they do after 70.’ Noting . ‘the joy of becoming a great-grandmother’, the 88-year-old Queen added a . telling sentiment that will, no doubt, be much quoted by future . historians: ‘Everything we do, we do for the young.’ To . Normandy’s beaches had come the grandest gathering of world leaders . since the London Olympics. It included seven monarchs and ten . presidents, assorted prime ministers and cheeses of great magnitude from . a couple of dozen governments and armed forces. Yet the true stars of the show were those who had been on these very sands 70 years ago this very dawn. They . ‘marched’ through the streets of Bayeux, feted by flag-waving children . and cries of ‘Merci’ as they made their way to Normandy’s largest . Commonwealth cemetery. There, . they were joined by the one head of state who could well recall every . moment of that longest day; who served in uniform; who heard her father . broadcast to the nation that night; and who has always had a . distinguished war veteran at her side – as he was yesterday. The . arrival of the Queen and Prince Philip was heralded by a full quartet . from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight – two Spitfires, a Dakota and . the mighty Lancaster. Tribute: Four-year-old Megan Grey at the grave of her great-grandfather who died on D-Day . Historic: Michel Colas (centre) shows his grandsons Samuel Colas (left) and Rafael Schneider (right) the Normandy American Cemetery before the start of an official event with U.S. President Barack Obama . Respect: A Veteran looks at graves as HM The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh accompanied by The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall attend a service of Remembrance at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery . Salute: Former sailor Peter Smoothy aged 89 from Herne Bay, Kent pays his respects to fallen comrades . The . sound of their Merlin engines and the sight of the Monarch, unmissable . in bright green, galvanised several old chaps up and out of their . wheelchairs. Helpers sprung . into action. They were struggling to their feet again as the bugle . sounded the Last Post and the Queen laid the first of many wreaths, . followed by the Prince of Wales, the Prime Ministers of Britain, . Australia and France and the Governor-General of New Zealand. And once the formalities were over, everyone wanted to have a word with the Sovereign. ‘My . Dad’s meeting the Queen!’ shouted a lady from Southend charging through . the crowd with a mobile phone. Don Sheppard, of the Southend branch of . the Normandy vets, was indeed having a word. Display: Thousands of attendees enjoyed a fantastic firework display at the International D-Day commemoration ceremony on Sword Beach . Show: Alpha jets, part of the Patrouille Acrobatique de France, leave trails of smoke in the colors of the French flag during the ceremony . So . was Ronald Elliott, 92, from Yorkshire, who had come ashore on Juno . Beach. Staying on the safe topic of weather, he said: ‘You didn’t order . it did you?’ ‘I might have,’ the Queen replied. Everyone . had a story to tell. I met Jim Booth who sat in a midget sub waiting to . guide the D-Day fleet. French-born Louisette Whitmore sheltered a badly . injured RAF officer after his plane came down; he became her husband. David . Cameron heard Leonard Bloomfield, 93, had served with the Duke of . Edinburgh in Gibraltar and steered him through the crowd to reunite him . with the Duke. Many veterans . wondered if there was something different about the place this year. Indeed there was. A few years ago, the Commonwealth War Graves . Commission noticed many of its Second World War graves were . deteriorating at a much faster pace than those from 1914-18. Group: The Queen and President Hollande stand before sitting at the top table along with Prince Philip, right . Royal welcome: The Queen and Prince Philip arrive at the Parisian venue this evening for a state banquet . Dressed for the occasion: Her Majesty wore an elaborate white gown and her crown for the Paris event . Greet: The Queen shakes hands with President Hollande - tonight's host - while Philip leaves the royal vehicle in the background. Her Majesty requested that Foie Gras was on the menu tonight . It . turned out that as Britain emerged from chaos in 1945, Whitehall – . shamefully – requisitioned all top grade Portland stone to repair . government buildings. The commission ended up with the cast-offs. So it has spent two years and £4million replacing 8,000 of the most vulnerable Normandy graves. Among . those paying their respects at a new headstone was four-year-old Megan . Grey, plus doll, whose great-grandfather died on D-Day. After . meeting the commission team, the Queen went on to lunch with all the . heads of state at the Chateau de Benouville, a wartime hospital. First . came a group photo at which she was glad-handed by new Ukrainian . president Petro Porochenko. Hellos: The royal couple were actually a few minutes late for the state banquet - most likely delayed following a long day of arrangements for the 70th anniversary of D Day . Arrival: Hollande, who is single and so is attending the event alone, steps aside to allow The Queen and Prince Philip to walk up the red carpet towards the elaborate Palace . All . eyes were on Russia’s Vladimir Putin, not least because of the Prince . of Wales’s observations on his foreign policy. To the relief of British . diplomats, the Prince was lunching with veterans elsewhere and Mr Putin . kept a respectful distance. To be on the safe side, the Queen made sure . she was deep in conversation with President Obama as they went through . to lunch. French diplomats . had thought long and hard about where to seat Mr Putin. The solution was . to slot him near the top of the table but in tranquil waters – between . the Queen of Denmark and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg. After . lunch, the leaders made the short journey to Sword Beach. Here the . hosts erected a vast arena where the 3rd British Infantry Division came . ashore on D-Day morning. A thousand British troops were killed or . wounded on this spot, although the landings were more successful on . Sword than anywhere else. This . was where Lord Lovat and his commandos came ashore to the sound of Bill . Millin as he marched up and down playing the bagpipes. Smiles: The Queen stops at the top of the steps outside Elysee Palace for photographs. The royals will dine on a menu of saddle of lamb and garden vegetables followed by Bourbon vanilla ice cream . Event: The Queen smiled for cameras outside the Parisian location. Hollande tonight said Her Majesty embodied the phrase 'Keep Calm and Carry On' in a warm toast to the royal . There were pipes once more here yesterday. President Francois Hollande could have staged this ‘spectacle’ anywhere along D-Day’s 50-mile battlefront. But the French made much of the fact that they wanted to arrange things around the Queen. This had been a British beach. And, as by far the longest-serving head of state present, she had the honour of arriving last. It seems pre-ordained that every anniversary of D-Day should turn into a shambles. It happened on the 50th and 60th and yesterday was no different. As 7,000 guests sat baking in 26-degree heat, the world leaders ended up spending an extra hour over lunch. We later learned Presidents Putin and Porochenko had been having a meeting at the chateau. This might have been of great significance in geo-political terms. But it was of little solace to more than 1,000 veterans waiting for the show. Worthy of note: the warm applause for Angela Merkel. No German Chancellor has ever had a welcome like that at one of these events. Also worthy of note: Barack Obama chewing gum throughout. Official: The Queen and Mr Hollande pose for a few pictures before making their way in to the top table . Guests: French Prime Minister Manuel Valls and his wife Anne Gravoin stop for photographs on the red carpet . It was fabulously French. Black-clad dancers bounced on stage depicting the Nazi conquest while pyrotechnics did the rest. Eventually, they were replaced by D-Day dancers plus much waving of flags. Finally, all the veterans took a bow, to thunderous applause. The Queen’s state visit to France continues this morning. Last night, she was the guest of honour at an Elysee Palace banquet. The day, she said, had left her filled ‘with sorrow and regret, remembering the loss of so many fine young soldiers, sailors and airmen; with pride, at the sheer courage of the men who stormed those beaches, embodied in the veterans among us; and with thankfulness’. D-Day, she observed, reminded us of a great truth: ‘We should weigh our actions not by immediate acclaim, but by their benefit for future generations.’ | Queen arrived at Elysee Palace, Paris, for state banquet hosted by Hollande .
The Queen concluded 70th anniversary memorial with powerful speech .
'Everything we do, we do for the young' she declared yesterday .
Follows day of commemoration for thousands who fell during D-Day landing . |
fae72298d86f8b36c8675f44a4839df6a2fd1677 | By . Beth Stebner . PUBLISHED: . 14:38 EST, 13 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 15:40 EST, 13 June 2012 . R&B singer Ashanti travelled to Atlantic City earlier this month, and came away with $20,000 in her purse. But the Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter wasn’t gambling – in fact quite the opposite. She was making an appearance at Atlantic City High School and speaking to its students. Officials paid her the amount for her June 1 appearance, saying the sum is typical for appearances of her calibre. Scroll down for video . Prized performance: R&B singer Ashanti sang and spoke at Atlantic City's high school . Captive audience: Hundreds of students listened to her perform; she later told them the values of hard work . Singer-songwriter: Ashanti won a Grammy Award in 2003 . The 2003 Grammy winner led assemblies, met privately with a group of middle school students and did an interview with the high school's radio station, according to the Press of Atlantic City, which obtained the Board of Education’s meeting minutes. The Press reported that Ashanti encouraged students to stay in school and work diligently, guided by the support of friends and family. ‘Continue to grind it out,’ she told students during an assembly. ‘Nothing that is worth it is easy.’ Money to pay the performer came from funds in a district budget account designated for the improvement of instructional services. Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Donna Haye told The Press that the school budgets for special events and officials saw the singer's appearance as 'a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.' She added: ‘(Ashanti) was paid like any other vendor.’ Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford said that none of the funds were paid by the city or its taxpayers. Backstage: The singer spoke with a local news station after performing; school officials said she was paid the standard fee . Costume change: Ashanti posted pictures of the event, thanking Isiah, left, and Elijah, right; she performed Whitney Houston's I Have Nothing in honour of the late singer . The singer was initially in town for the Multi-Cultural festival, where she performed a section of the ‘R&B Gone but Not Forgotten’ tribute. Ashanti performed I Have Nothing in honour of the late Whitney Houston, sporting a high ponytail and a short metallic dress. On June 2, she posted her thanks on Twitter, writing: ‘Super special S/O to Elijah who’s actually the 1 that help REALLY make it happen today @ AC high.’ Board members decided to bring the singer in during a May 1 meeting – according to the Press, the money was paid from a budget allocated for improving instructional services. A taste of Jersey: Last year, Rutgers University paid Jersey Shore sensation Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi $32,000 to speak at two events on campus; the funds came in part from mandatory tuition fees . Last year, Jersey Shore reality star and pop culture phenomenon Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi travelled to Rutgers University for a two-hour long Q&A session with around 1,000 students - for the staggering price of $32,000. Some students were outraged that their university shelled out such a sum for someone like Snooki. Student Hina Rehman told Reuters at the time that it was disappointing. ‘The fact that our school spent $32,000 to bring her is ridiculous. It’s fine the money used here is for entertainment purposes, but I think we can get better entertainment than that.’ Rutgers spokesperson Steve Manas told Reuters at the time that while some of the money was from mandatory student tuition fees, other parts came from corporate sponsor PepsiCo. Snooki bestowed a wealth of knowledge to the students, including the gem: 'Study hard, but party harder.' | Board of Education voted to bring Ashanti to Atlantic City High School for $20,000 fee .
She was in town for multicultural event and sang tribute to Whitney Houston .
Last year, Rutgers paid $32,000 for Snooki to speak at several events . |
fae72e98a2876a32a9c32ce6bf0afcc8e31583a2 | New York (CNN) -- JetBlue has begun refunding the passengers of five flights who were stranded on the tarmac of a Connecticut airport for as long as eight hours on Saturday, a spokeswoman for the airline told CNN on Thursday. Alison Croyle, spokeswoman for the airline, said refunds are currently being issued to passengers on all five planes that remained on the tarmac of Bradley International Airport near Hartford, amid the severe snowstorm that hit the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. "Yes, we started issuing refunds, but it will take us a while to get everyone," she said. She said the passengers were given a letter on Saturday notifying them of full refund for their trip and a roundtrip voucher for future trips, customer service was also told to call each customer and apologize. CNN Senior U.N. Correspondent Richard Roth, who was stuck for eight hours on the tarmac aboard JetBlue Flight 504, said he had received a ticket price refund of $161.86. That flight was bound for Newark, New Jersey, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but was diverted due to the weather. In a video posed Tuesday on the airline's blog and YouTube channel, Chief Operating Officer Rob Maruster apologized for a "confluence of events" that led to the incident, which he explained as "various runway, congestion and other operational issues at Newark and JFK Airports." However, Maruster said, "at no point in this weekend was safety ever compromised." "But let's face it, you count on us at JetBlue for a lot more -- and we promise a lot more -- and we know we let some of you down over the course of this weekend and for that we are truly sorry." Maruster said the airline intends to "fully participate with the Department of Transportation and cooperating with their investigation into events over the weekend, and we're also going to conduct an internal evaluation so that we can learn from this event because at the end of the day, you deserve better -- and we expect better from our crew members and our operation." During the eight-hour ordeal aboard Flight 504, there was little food or water, passengers were fighting, and some had medical issues . "I got a problem here on the airplane. I'm going to need to have the cops onboard," a flight crew member told the tower in a conversation posted on LiveATC.net, a website that monitors air traffic control conversations. "I need some air stairs brought over here and the cops brought onboard the airplane." Passenger Roseann Kozma explained the situation in a phone interview with CNN affiliate WTIC from the plane. "A couple passengers are fighting and there's a baby on here that's been crying the whole time," she said. Read more about this story from CNN affiliate WTIC. | JetBlue: Refunds are being issued to passengers on five flights .
The planes were stranded at the Hartford, Connecticut, airport on Saturday .
"It will take us a while to get (refunds to) everyone," airline spokeswoman says . |
fae7862623ee2a18ff8be02b525576e546717943 | BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Chinese investors want to cash in on the country's NBA fever with a bid to buy a 15 percent stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers. Chinese superstar Yao Ming has been linked with a switch to Cleveland if Huang's deal goes through. Chinese-born businessman Kenny Huang is heading the deal, estimated to be worth more than $70 million. Huang has masterminded previous sports deals, including introducing Mandarin advertisements in the Houston Toyota Center, home of Rockets and Chinese basketball star Yao Ming. With his U.S.-based partner Marc Ganis, Huang founded SportsCorp China, a company that facilitates sports and sponsorship contracts between the United States and China. Ganis said that if the deal goes through, it would rank as the largest international sports transaction ever made by Chinese nationals. "Simply having Chinese ownership will increase significantly the visibility of the team within China," Ganis said. "There will be much more coverage [of the Cavaliers] on the electronic news as well as the printed news. which means the team gets a much broader brand penetration in China for themselves, for their sponsors, and for any other business activities that they may want to engage in." The news has already sparked excitement among China's massive basketball fan base. "It makes me proud that the Chinese will be working with my favorite team," said a 14-year-old boy at Beijing's Youth Pro Basketball Training Camp. "It's an honor." At the training camp, players practice in the shadow of a giant statue of four-time NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal, who last month moved to losing Eastern Conference finalist Cleveland from Phoenix Suns. "They're crazy for basketball," said the camp's founder and former Chinese national basketball player Ma Jian. "Basketball has probably become the number one most popular sport in China." Ma says China's fascination with shooting hoops stems partially from NBA efforts to promote the league in the world's most populous nation. A minority ownership of an NBA team will take China and the NBA's love-love relationship to the next level. "It is a natural extension of what the NBA's efforts have been in China," Ganis said in an interview, "for Chinese investors to look not just at sponsoring the NBA, not just getting athletes as endorsers of their products, but also for them to now move into ownership of NBA franchises," The move is also expected to bolster the Cavaliers' marketing opportunities in China, where the franchise's merchandise is already a top seller. Some say that deal may even entice LeBron James, who has claimed he wants to be the first billion-dollar athlete, to re-sign with his hometown team next summer. James, or "Little Emperor" as the Chinese call him, is hugely popular in China. It seems the feeling's mutual. Playing for a team with links to China, "should be fun," James told Cleveland newspaper, The Plain Dealer. "It's a big market; they love the game of basketball .I've been over there the last four or five summers, and I know how much they are inspired about the game." There's also speculation that if the deal is finalized, the Chinese presence at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena may increase by one. A move by Yao to the Cavaliers has been at the center of discussion in the Chinese bloggosphere. A Chinese forum post reads: "I think there is around a 60 percent chance that Yao Ming will go to the Cavaliers because now the team is part-owned by Chinese investors and they will want to sign him." "This is all an unknown," said Yao in the interview with his hometown Shanghai TV station. Although Yao's recent injury may keep him off the court, it won't keep Chinese fans from watching the NBA -- despite speculation that his broken foot could end his career or, at the very least, keep him out of the next season. "Despite Yao's injury, many people in China will still be interested in basketball," says Mang Hongche, the manager of one of Beijing's NBA Stores. "Yao Ming's our favorite, but besides Yao there are also other players that we like, like Kobe and LeBron." With Chinese basketball fans in it for the long-run, the future may see more partnerships between the NBA and China. "In the next three to five years you will see a lot more sponsorships [with the NBA]," Ma Jian said. "The Kenny Huang deal and Yao Ming are just a piece driving this market." Some analysts say there's a possibility the NBA and China may even tie the knot by creating an NBA-CBA (Chinese Basketball Association) partnership. "At the end of the day, the NBA is still a league, so at some point they'll want to have a league here on the ground," says Michael Sun, managing director of sports giant IMG. "This is something that I'm sure [NBA China CEO] Ted Chan thinks about every day." | Chinese businessman hopes to buy 15 percent stake in Cleveland Cavaliers .
Kenny Huang is heading the deal, estimated to be worth more than $70 million .
Chinese people fanatical about basketball and national sports hero Yao Ming .
Further Chinese investment in the NBA is expected in the future . |
fae7f2fdd15cb2f8bcf7e7af928712474a9ad87d | The Los Angeles Police Department has released surveillance video showing a vicious attack on a woman by a serial purse snatcher who has been on a prowl in the Koreatown section of the city for nearly two months. Police issued a plea Tuesday asking the public for help in catching the suspect, who they believe is responsible for at least four attacks that took place between November 9 and December 30. Each time, the assailant, believed to be a Hispanic man, followed a lone Korean woman into an apartment building elevator, beat and robbed her. Scroll down for video . String of robberies: The Los Angeles Police Department has released surveillance video showing a vicious attack on a woman (left) by a serial purse snatcher (right) inside a Koreatown building . Brutal attack: The video was recorded November 9 at around 4.25am inside an apartment building in the 300 block of Alexandria Avenue . The video made public this week by the LAPD was recorded November 9 at around 4.25am inside an apartment building in the 300 block of Alexandria Avenue. The 17-second footage shows a woman of Korean descent laden with parcels walking through the lobby towards the elevator. Moments later, a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt and shorts follows the woman into the elevator off camera, punches her and hurls her to the ground with such force that her body is sent spinning. The victim tries to put up a fight before the attacker yanks the purse hanging around her neck, leaving the woman lying on the tile floor. In a news release, police wrote that the attacker struck again two weeks later, this time punching and robbing a Korean woman in an apartment elevator in the 500 block of Hobart Boulevard. Two more attacks followed on December 23 and December 30. In the former, the victim was sexually battered before being punched numerous times and robbed of her purse inside a building in the 300 block of Alexandria Avenue. Assaulted: The footage shows a Korean woman being hurled to the ground and punched by a man in a grey hooded sweatshirt and shorts . Struggle: The victim tries to put up a fight before the attacker yanks the purse hanging around her neck, leaving the woman lying on the tile floor . Repeat offender: LAPD says the Hispanic man is responsible for four attacks on Korean women that took place between November 9 and December 30 . In the latest attack, which played out just before 11pm in the 400 block of Westmoreland Avenue, the victim had a sharp object pressed to her neck before the assailant slammed her to the ground, punched and kicked her several times to make her let go of her handbag. ‘That’s the concerning part. This is escalating to the point where it’s becoming quite violent, and we really want to take him into custody right now, Los Angeles police Officer Jack Richter told KCAL. The suspect is described as a 20-30 year-old male Hispanic. He stands at approximately 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches and weighs about 130-170lbs. Anyone with information about the robberies or who recognizes the suspect is urged to call LAPD Olympic Division Robbery Detectives at (213) 382-9460. | LAPD says a Hispanic man is responsible for four attacks on Korean women that took place between November 9 and December 30 .
Surveillance video from inside a Koreatown apartment building shows the assailant hurl a woman to the floor and snatch her purse .
In December 23 attack, the suspect sexually battered and repeatedly punched his victim .
The latest attack involved the robber threatening a woman with a sharp object pressed to her neck . |
fae8881100c4fa6a82376f05f08927c1040a4a46 | A housekeeper has been charged with stealing £500,000 of antiques and art including a Picasso sketch from her aristocratic boss. Kim Roberts, 58, of Colyton, Devon, is accused of taking valuable items from the Dowager Countess Bathurst, while working at her grand Cotswolds estate and Kensington home. Roberts appeared at Gloucester Crown Court on Friday facing three counts of theft, including one count from another previous employer. She is accused of theft between April 30 and May 21 last year of of art . and antiques to the value of approximately £500,000 from Gloria, the Dowager Countess Bathurst at her Cirencester home. Court case: Kim Roberts, left, who allegedly stole £500,000 of antiques and art including a Picasso from the Dowager Countess Bathurst, right . The Crown Prosecution Service also say she stole antique vases between . April 30 2013 and August 20 2013 from the Dowager's west London home. She is also accused of taking a £10,000 Volvo XC90 from the Wiltshire the home of a previous employer, Emily Olympitis. A timetable for progress of her case was set and she was told to return to court for a plea and case management hearing on August 8. Her trial, expected to last three days, was listed to begin in the week of November 3. Grand: The majority of the thefts are alleged to have been carried out at the Dowager's Cirencester Park Estate (pictured) as well as her Kensington property . The Dowager Countess, who lives in a farmhouse on her family's vast Cirencester Park Estate, is the widow of the eighth Earl Bathurst, Henry, who died in 2011 aged 84. Their son Allen, formerly Lord Apsley, is now the 9th Earl and lives in the Cirencester Park mansion house with his wife Sara. Bailing Ms Roberts, the judge made it a condition that she resides at her Devon home and notifies the court if she moves address. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Kim Roberts, 58, accused of taking items from Dowager Countess Bathurst .
Allegedly stole items from her Cirencester estate and Kensington home .
Also accused of taking a Volvo from a previous employer in Wiltshire . |
fae8a57aaed0a1a1cb888567594dec1f5a344231 | Motozintla, MEXICO (CNN) -- "My life was sad before because I had to crawl on the ground," recalls Caesar Morales, a 24-year-old father in Mexico who, until recently, had only one limb and couldn't walk. David Puckett's nonprofit has provided free artificial limbs, orthopedic braces and care to more than 420 people. But today, thanks to David Puckett and his U.S.-based nonprofit, Morales has new prosthetic legs. Now, he's not only able to walk, but his newfound independence has made it possible for him to move to another town where he could find work. "He lifted me up to where I am today," Morales says. Morales isn't the only person in southeastern Mexico who credits Puckett with changing his life. Since November 2000, the certified, licensed prosthetist/orthotist from Savannah, Georgia, has been providing artificial limbs, orthopedic braces and ongoing care to hundreds in need in the communities of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and Chiapas -- free of charge. "When someone loses a limb they immediately know what they've lost," says Puckett. "The goal is to restore the healthy self image again so that that person can see themselves whole." Puckett first connected with the Yucatan people while volunteering on a mission there as a teenager. Struck by the overwhelming poverty and the physical challenges he saw people facing in the rural communities, Puckett vowed to return and make a difference there. "When I finally got into the field of orthotics and prosthetics, I said, 'Ah-ha. Now, I know what I can do.' " His nonprofit, PIPO Missions: Limbs and Braces to Mexico, collects donated, used orthopedic braces and artificial limbs in the United States and crafts new ones from their recycled components. On average, Puckett makes a six-day trip every two months to distribute the custom prosthetics and braces, while also providing ongoing care. "To deliver an artificial limb or brace without follow-up doesn't help that person in the long run," says Puckett. "We need to make sure that they have what they need to continue living successfully for years to come." Over the course of his 41 trips to the region, Puckett has helped more than 420 individuals. He's found that word of his work spreads fast through the villages and people will drive hours to attend his clinics. Puckett's trips are routinely extended to accommodate house calls to immobile residents of distant towns. Watch how Puckett brings prosthetic and orthotic care to people in Mexico » . "Someone might say, 'I wanna bring 10 people with me next time you come.' The mixed blessing is they'll bring 50 or 100 people that have physical needs," says Puckett. "The difficulty for me is, how do I say no?" For Puckett, each trip demonstrates the immeasurable impact he is making on people's lives. Stories of previously unimagined independence, confidence and employment greet him from clinical waiting areas, often along with offerings of food, livestock and friendship. When his group helps one person, Puckett explains, it has an effect on an entire community. Watch Puckett describe how one patient in Mexico crafted himself a homemade foot » . "It opens a whole other door for many of these folks to experience the world in a way in which they've never even dreamt of," says Puckett. "And the world has an opportunity to greet them, accept them and welcome them back into society. So, it's a double blessing." Watch Puckett describe how he helped a woman now known as "the miracle girl" » . In between trips, Puckett also spends time soliciting the aid of surgeons, as he frequently encounters physical conditions that require surgery before prosthetic help can be successfully administered. "If we had a surgeon here, we could see eight to 10 patients in a weekend and change their lives forever," he says. "It's tough for people to make the choice to give up time with their families and a portion of their income to extend themselves in this way. But, take it from me, the more we give, the more we get." | David Puckett's nonprofit provides free artificial limbs, braces and care .
Since November 2000 the organization has helped hundreds in southeastern Mexico .
Puckett's organization crafts the braces and artificial limbs from recycled ones . |
fae8bfa885e0527ca5062225ab5b243c4a00f65a | (CNN) -- As he rolls across the wheat fields of his Nebraska farm, Steve Tucker often has his hands not on the wheel of his tractor, but on a smartphone. Steve Tucker, a Twittering farmer, pauses in front of his tractor in Nebraska. He sometimes posts a dozen messages per day on Twitter, commenting on everything from the weather to the state of his crops to his son's first tractor ride and even last night's cheeseburger. "Got rained out trying to finish up planting corn. Only 90 acres left. Maybe it will dry up today and I can finish Lord willin'," he wrote in one recent post. "Just sold some more wheat, now, I wait for God to provide the harvest so I can fill the contracts," the 39-year-old said in another. "Eat more bread!" Tucker is proof that smartphones are starting to put down roots in rural America. He lives in a 150-person town near Brandon, Nebraska -- a place even he calls "the middle of nowhere." The nearest neighbor to his 4,000-acre farm is about 2 miles away. Yet, farmers like Tucker are using Internet-enabled phones to gain a foothold on online social networks -- both for business and personal reasons. (Follow him on Twitter) "I can be in the most remote place and just with the power of having a BlackBerry ... I can communicate with anybody at anytime about anything," he said. "It is just amazing." The growth of smartphones on farms is important because many people don't think about where their food comes from, much less associate a specific farmer with that process, said Andy Kleinschmidt, a farmer and agricultural extension educator at Ohio State University. "When you can put a name or personality with someone who's actually raising corn and soybeans or actually milking cows, that's the most important thing that's come about in my opinion," he said. A host of blogs and Twitter feeds have popped up around the subjects of technology and life on the farm. On Tuesdays from 8 to 10 p.m. ET, farmers meet on Twitter for a live chat about all things agricultural. You can watch that conversation by searching for agchat on the site. Kleinschmidt said he uses a smartphone to check live weather reports, which can make or break a year's crop. Other farmers send him pictures of ailing plants, hoping to identify crop diseases early. Some farmers use their phones as notepads, tracking their applications of pesticides, he said. Developers of phone applications apparently have taken notice of the farm-tech trend, too. An iPhone application called PureSense helps techie farmers in drought-stricken places monitor how much water is in their soil at various locations and in real time. Historically, farms have lagged behind the rest of country in Internet and computer usage. But a 2007 census by the U.S. Department of Agriculture says Web use on farms is increasing. High-speed Internet access doubled on U.S. farms between 2005 and 2007, for instance, jumping from 13 percent to 27 percent. That's still less than the general population, however. Fifty-five percent of farms had Internet access in 2007 compared with 62 percent of homes in the United States overall, according to government statistics. The census does not measure smartphone penetration. Internet-enabled phones are making their way into rural America slowly because it's difficult to send Internet data over cellular networks in some sparsely populated areas where wireless service is spotty, some advocates have claimed. Still, some farmers are adopting the technology despite the odds. The biggest draw of smartphones and online social networks is that they provide human connections to people for whom farm life can be lonely, said Chuck Zimmerman, publisher of an agriculture news blog called agwired.com. "Most farmers are going to be in their [tractor] cab," he said. "You're going all day long, night and day -- it can get a little bit boring, you know? So, a lot of them have satellite radio, smartphones, iPhones, BlackBerries. I can't tell you how many farmers are following me who are tweeting form the cab." It's a misconception that farmers are behind the curve technologically, Zimmerman said. "In large part, farmers tend to be very early adopters of technology. We have the stereotypical image of a hayseed farmer that still persists -- out on a tractor with a straw hat on," he said. "The reality is that most of them are very highly trained from a technological standpoint." Tucker said his job on the farm in Nebraska includes more than harvesting wheat, corn, sunflowers and millet. He wants to bring urban Internet users along for the ride. And in doing so, he's become a sort of text-happy evangelist for rural America. "People out in the cities aren't familiar with agriculture like it used to be 100 years ago. They may not have an appreciation or an understanding of what goes on out in the rural side of things," he said. "I just try to be an information source for whoever may be listening." So that's what he does from his tractor -- one tweet at a time. | Smartphones and online social networks are gaining popularity on farms .
Farmers use Internet phones to check weather and monitor pesticides .
Nebraska farmer says his Twitter posts help bridge the urban-rural divide .
Another says phones and social media connect eaters with sources of food . |
fae9e2734977c0d536e54eb7323fcabfdd0f7199 | By . Emily Allen . PUBLISHED: . 13:14 EST, 20 September 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 14:21 EST, 20 September 2012 . A family has been miraculously . reunited with a lost digital camera and over 800 precious pictures on it by . the dedicated diver that sought them out after finding it sitting on . the seabed. Paul McGahan, 47, . a music producer from Helford in Cornwall, was stunned after being . handed the camera and memory card nearly two months after his daughter . accidentally dropped it overboard on a yacht trip on July 25. Incredibly . it was found by local diver Diver Mark Milburn . carrying out an underwater beach clean off Falmouth, Cornwall. Lost and found: Paul and Rachel pictured with Maddie, 10, and Myia, five, with the Samsung camera saved from the sea after it was discovered by divers 30ft under the water. They have recovered their 800 family snaps . He . worked to save the pictures on the Samsung camera’s memory card and . found the photographs included a family holiday in Florida, a school . concert and a sailing holiday on the Helford river in Cornwall. Now . after an appeal by Mr Milburn who runs the Atlantic Scuba diving centre . in Falmouth the family has been reunited with the photos. Mr McGahan, married to Rachel, 35, and children Rosie, 18, Branden, 15, Maddie, 10 and Myia, 5, couldn’t believe it. Amongst rubbish: Mark Milburn, pictured, found the camera amongst 66lb . rubbish he collected with local divers in an underwater beach clean and amazingly discovered it was still working . Discovery: Divers in Cornwall are pictured with some of the rubbish they found on their underwater beach clean . He said: 'It’s just amazing - what a chain of events - you couldn’t make it up. It’s beyond belief really. 'There are over 800 family snaps on there. I never thought I’d see them again. 'I . mean we can go on holidays again and take pictures of that but there . were some pictures of my youngest daughter’s first school play on there. 'They were irreplaceable - we couldn’t replicate that. I’m just so grateful to Mark and his fellow divers. Miraculously survived: One of the family photos on the camera. Mr Milburn recognised the Helford River in the background. He worked out dates on the images showed they were taken just two days before he found it . Family snap: This photo was also retrieved from the abandoned camera, along with more than 800 others after Mr Milburn dried the camera out and left stunned to find the memory card still working . Return memories: Mr Milburn is happy the camera has finally been returned and memories have been saved . 'He’s done a great job - he put a lot of effort into retrieving the photos from the card. It’s down to him really.' He added that camera was accidentally dropped overboard when the family went on a trip aboard a friend’s yacht. 'My . daughter Maddie wanted to take a picture of us but the yacht went over . wake wave just as she was taking it and the camera bounced out of her . hand. 'It was just one of those things - I definitely never expected to see it again though.' He said he would be getting in touch with Samsung and also Sandisk the makers of the camera memory card about the story. Mr Milburn added he was delighted to have returned the camera and photos to its rightful owners. 'It’s fantastic to help out,' he said. 'I’m just happy they got it back. It’s a happy ending which I’m really glad about.' He said: 'I was on a routine dive when I spotted this small shiny box on the bed. 'I thought it was a camera case at first but when I picked it up and it was an actual camera. 'Obviously I figured the sea water . would have done irreparable damage. I got back home and dried it out and . when the memory card popped out there were all these photos on there. The lost camera: It was found 30ft underwater by Mr Milburn while he was diving and still worked . ‘The pictures seemed to show family holidays around the world. 'Some look like Universal Studios in America and there’s some local stuff as well.' Mr McGahan added: 'All the memories we thought were gone have now been brought back to us.' Mr McGahan was on a day’s sailing trip on a friend’s yacht in July when Maddie dropped the camera. Found 30ft underwater: This photo of Darth Vader and other performers at a theme park in Florida was found . He said: 'Maddie was properly distraught and although I told her it was just an accident, she was in tears.' Mr . McGahan said the camera held all their recent photographs of a trip to . the Harry Potter theme park in Florida, which he had not downloaded. 'The . camera can be replaced, but our cherished memories can’t, so Rachel and . I are convinced someone’s been watching over us,' he said. Mrs McGahan was at work at RNAS Culdrose when she saw the Spotlight story on the guard room television. Lost memories: Taken in a school hall, this photo was an important moment for the family which could have been lost . At theme park: Among the photos found were some holiday snaps at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park in Florida . | Paul McGahan and his family were reunited with the camera two months after they dropped it overboard .
It was found by a local diver who was carrying out an underwater beach clean off Falmouth, Cornwall . |
faea340751c1d568e6d36ac3b7d3a2f5f7cb3c57 | (Mashable) -- Can't get enough of Mark Zuckerberg? Well, if the upcoming movie "The Social Network" doesn't sate your desire for the Facebook founder, he's slated to star in his own comic book come December. Bluewater Productions -- a Canadian production company specializing in comic books, graphic novels and multimedia that has previously told the tales of celebs like William Shatner, Roger Corman, Ray Harryhausen and Vincent Price, among other luminaries -- plans to release "Mark Zuckerberg: Creator of Facebook" as a 48-page saga that seeks to answer the question: "Who is the real Mark Zuckerberg?" Is he the philanthropist who recently donated $100 million to public schools in Newark? Or is he the darker character we're all anxiously awaiting meeting in David Fincher's "The Social Network"? "Rightly or wrongly, Mark dealt harshly with some people on his way to where he is today", says comic book author Jerome Maida. "As we see, he left many people feeling betrayed. I try my best to be fair here. No one is totally innocent in this story. I try to represent each of the major players' point of view." Zuckerberg has become a figure of massive public interest over the last couple of years as Facebook has reaped both praise and torrents of criticism. It will be interesting to see how history looks back at this period in the coming years -- we'll certainly have a trove of source material in the archives if this Zuckerberg-centric storytelling trend continues. © 2013 MASHABLE.com. All rights reserved. | Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg slated to star in his own comic book .
Comic book to be produced by Bluewater Productions from Canada .
The "Mark Zuckerberg: Creator of Facebook" will be a 48-page saga . |
faeaf299b6f1481c503c130bef4f7778a4f4e784 | A lesbian couple in their nineties have finally tied the knot after 72 years together. Vivian Boyack and Alice 'Nonie' Dubes married on Saturday at First Christian Church in Davenport. Miss Boyack, 91, and Miss Dubes, 90, sat next to each other in wheelchairs during the ceremony. Vivian Boyack and Alice 'Nonie' Dubes have got married on Saturday at First Christian Church in Davenport . The women met in their hometown of Yale, Iowa, while growing up . 'This is a celebration of something that should have happened a very long time ago,' the Rev. Linda Hunsaker told the small group of close friends and family who attended. The women met in their hometown of Yale, Iowa, while growing up. Then they moved to Davenport in 1947 where Miss Boyack taught school and Miss Dubes did payroll work. The women met in their hometown of Yale, Iowa, while growing up. Boyack said it takes a lot of love and work to keep a relationship going for 72 years . Miss Dubes said the two have enjoyed their life together and over the years they have travelled to all 50 states, all the provinces of Canada, and to England twice. 'We've had a good time,' Miss Dubes said. Boyack said it takes a lot of love and work to keep a relationship going for 72 years. Longtime friend Jerry Yeast, 73, said he got to know the couple when he worked in their yard as a teenager. 'I've known these two women all my life, and I can tell you, they are special,' Yeast said. Iowa began allowing gay marriage in 2009. The two women say it is never too late for a new chapter in life. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Vivian Boyack and Alice 'Nonie' Dubes have got married on Saturday .
Boyack, 91, and Dubes, 90, sat next to each other during the ceremony .
Boyack said it takes a lot of love to keep a relationship going for 72 years . |
faeb0c2f2e20fef39f71e37183e59760e933bed7 | A couple of years ago, I stepped off a plane at a small airport in a far corner of the planet, and caught a taxi into town. You do not really notice Ushuaia as you enter it – because, despite marketing itself as the world’s most southerly city, there is not a great deal of it. But what you do spot, about halfway through the cab ride, is the memorial to the Argentinian dead of the Falklands War, placed very prominently at the roadside. Indeed, you cannot miss it. This stark slab of iron – from which the outline of the Falklands archipelago (or Las Malvinas, as the Argentinians prefer to call it) has been cut – could scarcely be described as pretty. But it makes a firm point: What happened in 1982 has not been forgotten here. Under fire: The Top Gear team - with Jeremy Clarkson centre of image, seated - while filming in Argentina . My mind has drifted back to that memorial over the last couple of days, as the furore over the actions of the Top Gear team, and its star Jeremy Clarkson, has gathered momentum. For those of you who have missed this ‘event’ (perhaps you have better things to do with your life, or perhaps you prefer some news with your news stories), Clarkson has been accused of angering the locals in southernmost Argentina by driving around in a Porsche whose number plate apparently references the Falklands War. The plate in question reads ‘H982 FKL’. A line of numbers and letters which has been taken by the Argentinian media to refer to the year of the conflict, 1982 – and the islands over which it was fought. Cue unpleasant scenes in Ushuaia, this outpost at the foot of South America – with various reports of vehicles being pelted with stones, the Top Gear presenters being pursued to the Chilean border by a mob, and police assistance required to get them out of the country. Cause of controversy: Clarkson's 1991 Porsche, with the number plate that has been seen as a war reference . After the event: The same Porsche is seen with damage to its windscreen after an encounter with a local mob . All very unsavoury, then, with Top Gear cast, again, in an unpleasant light, and Ushuaia – an important tourist destination – doing its image a considerable disservice. The city is the key point of access for the spectacular islands of Tierra del Fuego – the fractured lower tip of South America – as well as voyages that venture to Antarctica. But as with a juvenile spat in 2012, where two British ships were refused harbour in a show of lingering bad feeling, Ushuaia is once more in focus for reasons other than its glorious scenery. Naturally, Top Gear has issued the requisite denials. The number plate was a coincidence, we have been told – a work of total chance. The 1991 Porsche came with the plate when it was bought by the show back in August – acquired specifically for the 1350-mile drive through Argentina which has been filmed for the programme’s 2014 Christmas special. Make of that what you will, although bear in mind that Clarkson has a record of trying to offend his hosts when filming Top Gear in overseas locations – in 2012, he prompted complaints from the Indian High Commission after driving in India with a lavatory strapped to the back of his fast Jaguar, in a glib pot-shot at the country’s sanitation issues. Doomed: The sinking of the General Belgrano in 1982 was the most controversial moment in the Falklands War . Not forgotten: The General Belgrano sailed from Ushuaia in April 1982 - and its sinking is still keenly felt there . Perhaps the producers are telling the truth. Perhaps serendipity has frowned upon Top Gear, handing it the equivalent of a Countdown Conundrum that it could not solve. But what should be very clear is that if this was a deliberate stunt, pulled by the makers of the show in a gesture of boys’-club humour, then it was both crass and insensitive. Thirty-two years after its outbreak, the Falklands War is still a notoriously thorny issue between Britain and Argentina – and it remains a highly troublesome topic in Ushuaia. The losses of the war are still keenly felt in the city because the conflict’s most difficult moment – the sinking of the Argentine warship General Belgrano – had its roots here. The naval cruiser set sail from Ushuaia on 26 April 1982. Six days later, it was sunk by the British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror, with the deaths of 323 men on board. Site of remembrance: Ushuaia has a very visible memorial to the Argentinian dead of the Falklands War . Very much an emotive issue: The war is still a big topic in a city that played a direct role in the events of 1982 . The incident has helped to keep the fires of the Falklands debate aflame ever since. Notoriously, the General Belgrano was outside the 200-mile exclusion zone around the archipelago that had been declared by Britain as a theatre of definite conflict – and was sailing west, away from the Falklands, and back towards the Argentinian mainland. Some naval officials in Argentina – including Héctor Bonzo, the doomed vessel’s captain – have described the sinking as a legitimate military act, revealing that the ship was mid-manoeuvre, and ready to attack. Others, including some here in Britain, have called it a war crime. The rights and wrongs of the assault on the Belgrano are never likely to be resolved into one smooth narrative. But you do not need a degree in military history to understand that the subject is still emotive in a city that waved farewell to the dead men. Nor do you need a Masters in geography to appreciate that people are still upset in a place that sits just 400 miles from the Falklands (a hop and skip in a region of long distances and empty horizons). And you do not need to be an apologist for Argentina’s aggression and invasion of the Falklands in 1982 to realise that people mourn their loved ones who do not return home. Missing the point: Jeremy Clarkson's latest Twitter defence fails to understand why people might be upset . Argentina lost 649 soldiers in the conflict. Half of them passed through Ushuaia en route to a watery grave. In other words, it is not a city where you make jokes about the war. It is certainly not a place where you make references that treat the drowning of so many sailors as if it were the result of a football match. Or that most noxious of terms, ‘banter’. Perhaps, as has been said, the number plate was an accident. But Clarkson’s responses to the matter show he hasn’t grasped why this has caused outrage. He has said via Twitter: ‘These war veterans we upset. Mostly they were in the 20s. Do the maths.’ Thus utterly missing the point. Does he think that only soldiers who have seen service are affected by war? That their families and children just shrug and carry on with their lives, oblivious? No doubt the Top Gear team will repeat the coincidence claim until the story has faded into the background. No doubt the Christmas special will be an enormous success, its viewing figures boosted by the controversy. No doubt it will go on to sell a huge number of DVDs, and add to the reputed £150 million the show makes for the BBC every year. At the end of the world: Undeniably pretty, Ushuaia can lay claim to being the most southerly city on the planet . In happier moments: Normally, Ushuaia is a tourism destination where cruises for Antarctica start and finish . If so, perhaps I could suggest a few more unforeseen coincidences of which the show could be an entirely blameless and wholly unfortunate victim in future episodes. What about a dash around northern France in cars that – good lord, who could ever have made the connection? – accidentally refer to the 19,240 British men who were slaughtered on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in July 1916? How about a quick jaunt to the beach at Dunkirk with a number plate that – oh dear, if only we’d spotted it in time – casually mentions the 11,000 Allied soldiers killed in the evacuation of 1940? What wit. What chutzpah. What bravado. Oh my aching sides. | Popular BBC TV show is embroiled in row over the Falklands War of 1982 .
Jeremy Clarkson accused of driving with number plate mocking the conflict .
Producers say that number plate 'H982 FKL' is an unfortunate coincidence .
Top Gear received a very unfriendly welcome in Argentinian city of Ushuaia .
Doomed Argentinian ship the General Belgrano sailed from Ushuaia in 1982 . |
faeb1f7713631297bf7d32af14d760fbd902b25f | Michelle Jannetta, 31, died at Milton Keynes Hospital after a catalogue of errors by staff. An inquest heard staff accused her of faking illness . A 31-year-old mentally ill patient died unnecessarily because of a catalogue of errors by A&E staff, an inquest has concluded. Michelle Jannetta, from Bletchley, Milton Keynes, died at Milton Keynes Hospital on March 8, 2012, after taking an overdose of painkillers. While at the hospital she was left in the care of unqualified healthcare assistants, was believed to be faking her illness despite being in a deep coma, and was not given the antidote which could have saved her life, the inquest heard. Her medical notes were also written on the back of a glove which was subsequently lost, and staff mixed up her blood samples with those from another patient. The coroner, Tom Osborne, delivered a . narrative verdict, which stated that: 'There was a failure to undertake . and report on her regular observations and a failure to recognise her . deteriorating condition or the seriousness of her situation that . resulted in a lost opportunity to render further effective treatment . before she went into respiratory arrest caused by obstruction of her . airway, attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful and she died at . 11.18 on 8th March 2012.' Ms Jannetta, who had a history of mental illness, arrived at the hospital’s A&E department at midnight on March 7, 2012. Initially, she told staff that she had not taken any drugs. She later told staff she had in fact taken Tramadol. She was well known to the department’s staff but they failed to administer the antidote which would have counteracted the effects of the painkiller within minutes. Her family’s lawyer, Carolyn Lowe, a partner in the clinical negligence department of Henmans Freeth LLP, told MailOnline: ‘There is no record of anyone having considered giving her the antidote. ‘The whole attitude of the staff was clouded by the fact that she was a regular attender – she was not treated as the vulnerable patient that she was.’ Ms Jannetta was left in the care of a healthcare assistant, instead of a nurse, and only two sets of formal observations were taken during her 11 hours in the hospital. One of these sets of results was written on a surgical glove which was then lost. Ms Jannetta was left in the care of healthcare assistants instead of fully qualified nurses. She was believed to be faking her illness despite being in a deep coma. She was not given the antidote which could have saved her life. Her medical notes were written on the back of a glove which was then lost. Her blood samples were mixed up with those of another patient. The second set of observations was taken by a healthcare assistant at 8.30am but she failed to report the seriously abnormal results to her seniors. Ms Lowe said: ‘Either the HCA did not recognise the danger signs or she did, and she failed to pass on the information. ‘If the findings had been passed on, Michelle would have been put on half hourly observations and her rapid deterioration in the following hours would have been spotted. ‘The coroner believes that the observations should have been carried out by a fully qualified nurse because having HCA’s playing this role is a major risk to a patient’s life.’ The inquest also heard that Ms Jannetta had been placed to sleep on her back which resulted in her breathing becoming obstructed and caused her death. While she was in the hospital staff also mixed her blood gas samples with that of another patient. She died at 11.20am after she stopped breathing. Nicola Rose, Ms Jannetta’s sister, said: ‘Michelle may have suffered with mental health issues but to the family she was a fun-loving and caring person who was very much adored by every one of us. ‘Michelle was a very much loved aunt, daughter and sister who we all miss desperately. ‘It has been incredibly difficult to come to terms with her untimely death. We wish she was still here bringing smiles to us all and we'll never forget her. While at the hospital (pictured) she was left in the care of unqualified healthcare assistants, was accused of faking her illness despite being in a deep coma, and was not given the antidote which could have saved her life . ‘We can only hope that her tragic death . will bring a change to attitudes towards mental health patients who are . being treated in a general hospital and make it a safer place for the . vulnerable and those struggling with mental illness.’ Ms . Lowe added: ‘Michelle’s inquest has highlighted the problems that . vulnerable patients with mental health issues can encounter in hospitals . and I hope that the Trust will have learnt lessons from this. ‘I can only hope that the family can . take some comfort from knowing that as a direct result of Michelle’s . death the coroner has written to the Secretary of State for Health . asking her to consider changing hospital policy so that observations . taken in patients who are seriously ill, like Michelle , are to be . carried out by trained nurses. ‘As the coroner said, this should mean that Michelle has not died in vain.’ She told MailOnline: ‘It is clear that due to staff shortages it has become general practice in hospitals for healthcare assistants to take nursing observations. ‘Whilst this may be acceptable in patients that are not seriously ill, for patients that are very ill or have for example taken an overdose, like Michelle, observations should be taken by fully trained nurses who are able to take them and then to interpret them properly. The hospital has apologised that 'Michelle did not consistently receive the high level of care that we expect' ‘If that had been done on the night that Michelle was admitted to hospital then she would most likely still be here today.’ Joe Harrison, Chief Executive of of Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: 'Our thoughts are with Michelle’s family at this difficult time. 'Michelle sadly passed away in our Accident and Emergency Department in March 2012. We are sorry that Michelle did not consistently receive the high level of care that we expect. 'Since Michelle’s death, we have conducted an investigation to ensure lessons are learned. We will be continuing to improve our service in regard to emergency patients. 'The Coroner has issued a Rule 43 to the Secretary of State for Health to express his concerns about the national practice of healthcare assistants (HCAs) taking crucial observations. 'We have already commissioned the Open University to provide training for 50 of our Healthcare Assistants (HCAs) to build on their skills.' | Michelle Jannetta died at Milton Keynes Hospital on March 8, 2012 .
Went to the A&E department after taking an overdose of painkillers .
Family say staff believed she was faking symptoms and failed to give antidote .
Her medical notes were written on a surgical glove which was then lost .
Was left in the care of a healthcare assistant instead of a fully trained nurse .
Her blood samples were mixed up with those of another patient .
Was placed to sleep on her back which caused airway to become blocked .
Coroner has written to Secretary of State to ask that seriously ill patients are cared for by trained nurses rather than healthcare assistants . |
faeb2130a4d0002c5ba85153802dd6dc6c719a3c | By . Paul Donnelley . A British man has been arrested on a suspected murder charge over the stabbing death of a love rival in the Austrian town that was the home of Josef Fritzl, the engineer who kept his daughter locked in a cellar for 24 years. Roman Topf, 39, was discovered with two stab wounds, in a courtyard of a house in Böhlerwerk, a suburb of Amstetten, where Fritzl lived. He is thought to have bled to death after his carotid artery was severed. Austrian police said that they had arrested 36-year-old Raphael Andrew Diemoz from Bradford, West Yorkshire. They also revealed that they had recovered two blood stained knives from the scene. Alleged murderer: Raphael Diemoz from West Yorkshire is in custody in Austria following the stabbing death of his love rival Roman Topf . Scene of death: This is the bloodied bench where Roman Topf was found dead in the early hours if Wednesday having bled to death after being stabbed in the neck . Diemoz alleged that Mr Topf had threatened him with the knives but he had managed to disarm him before stabbing him twice in the neck. According to police, the stabbing occurred after a heavy drinking session. The two men who had been celebrating the birthday of a third man were seeking the favours of a 30-year-old waitress. She invited Diemoz, Mr Topf and the other man back to her flat at 2am to continue drinking. Victim: Roman Topf (left) was stabbed to death in the early hours of Wednesday allegedly by Briton Raphael Diemoz in the Austrian town of Amstetten, which gained notoriety in 1988 when it was discovered that engineer Josef Fritzl (right) had kept his daughter locked in a cellar for 24 years . She quickly tired of their attentions and told all three to leave. It was not long after that Mr Topf was killed. His bloodied remains were discovered by another tenant around 4am on a bench in the courtyard below the waitress’s home. Diemoz remains in custody in St Poelten prison. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Raphael Diemoz, 36, from Bradford, allegedly stabbed Roman Topf, 39, in argument over waitress .
The two men had been drinking heavily in Böhlerwerk, a suburb of Amstetten, Austria where Fritzl lived .
Mr Topf stabbed twice in the neck, his carotid artery being severed . |
faebb6eeab2f067a3152d78b0a2a36473855d490 | The star Ukip candidate accusing her party’s general secretary of being a sex pest was last night exposed as a fantasist. Natasha Bolter’s claim of a top degree in politics, philosophy and economics from Oxford University unravelled when the institution took the rare step of denying she had ever attended. And the Mail has learnt she even misspelt her supposed Oxford alma mater Wadham College as ‘Wadam’ on her CV – and said she was aged 35, rather than 39. Natasha Bolter, middle, the star Ukip candidate accusing her party’s general secretary, Roger Bird, of being a sex pest was last night exposed as a fantasist. It casts doubt on her story that she was sexually harassed by Roger Bird, one of Nigel Farage’s key lieutenants. Mr Bird has said the pair were in a relationship. Mrs Bolter told the BBC’s Newsnight: ‘I didn’t sleep with Roger Bird, end of.’ But he insisted: ‘For the record, yes she did.’ Yesterday it emerged she sent him flirty text messages two days after the harassment claims were made. One said: ‘Love or infatuation made me lose my brain.’ She was a dream candidate for male-dominated Ukip because she is female, the daughter of immigrants and a former Labour supporter. But she exploded a grenade in the party by claiming in The Times that Mr Bird had propositioned her at his club. On Monday, Ukip said Mr Bird had been suspended while it looked at claims of ‘impropriety’. At Ukip’s September conference, Mr Bird introduced Mrs Bolter, saying: ‘She got five A grades at A-levels and went on to read PPE at Wadham College, Oxford.’ Roger Bird said he was in a relationship with Mrs Bolter, who denied she had slept with him. She repeated the Oxford claims in an unpublished interview with The Times, it is understood. But the university said it could find no evidence Mrs Bolter – then Natasha Ahmed – was a student. It said: ‘Oxford University has no record of a Natasha Ahmed with a birthday of 12 July 1975.’ Last night a friend said she did study in Oxford – on a teaching course at the now-defunct Westminster Institute of Education at Oxford Brookes University. The discrepancy echoes the case of Jeffrey Archer, who once claimed to be an Oxford graduate when in fact he attended an education college linked to the main university. On Newsnight, Mrs Bolter said she quit Ukip and walked away from a winnable seat to speak out about Mr Bird, adding that doing so ‘ruined my life’. In her first television interview since the row, the single mother of five said she never ‘felt scared’ of Mr Bird because ‘he was a gentleman’, but spoke out because he was ‘looking at me as a sex object’. She added: ‘I just felt pressured that if I did the right thing my career would go further and faster. If I had slept with him I would probably have had an easier time in Ukip.’ At a subsequent meeting, he asked her to go for dinner – and insisted on buying her a £169 Ted Baker dress because she was not dressed smartly, she said. Mrs Bolter, seen above leaving her home, misspelt her supposed Oxford alma mater Wadham College as ‘Wadam’ on her CV – and said she was aged 35, rather than 39 . Mr Bird responded by saying the pair were in a relationship for seven weeks. He revealed a string of text messages he claimed she sent him – including one which read: ‘I love you and miss you and think you are sort of perfect.’ He has told friends he wants to be reinstated in his £75,000-a-year job and as Ukip candidate for the Cities of London and Westminster. His supporters claim Mrs Bolter’s ‘rambling’ appearance on Newsnight on Tuesday has vindicated him. One said: ‘She didn’t do herself any favours . . . She claimed to have lodged a complaint about Roger on November 5, but some of the affectionate messages she sent him were sent after that – what does that say about her claims? ‘Roger just wants this dealt with so he can get on with his job. He recognises there is a process that has to be gone through, but it is important for everyone that it is dealt with quickly.’ Mr Bird is due to face a disciplinary hearing tomorrow, when he will be able to make his case. Senior party figures have been ordered to keep quiet about the row in public. But parliamentary candidate Helena Windsor broke cover yesterday to support Mr Bird. She tweeted: ‘I can’t imagine a more unlikely sex pest.’ Mrs Bolter was unavailable for comment yesterday. Ukip deputy chairman Neil Hamilton, who stepped in as candidate for Basildon South as Mrs Bolter quit, has withdrawn after a party committee queried his expenses claims for travel and accommodation in his wife’s flat. The shamed former Tory MP, who was involved in the cash for questions scandal, could not be reached last night. | Oxford University has denied that Natasha Bolter ever studied there .
On her CV Mrs Bolter claimed to be 35-years-old, when she was in fact 39 .
She sent Mr Bird flirty texts two days after harassment claims were made . |
faec4f9e2ee520e2389d2b849a43b0e1f8457ad3 | By . Anthony Bond . PUBLISHED: . 13:29 EST, 29 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 07:25 EST, 30 November 2012 . Cleared: PC David Hair was found not guilty of using racist language after he admitted asking a black female colleague if she was 'going home to cook bananas'. He claimed it was an honest reference to cooking . Two police officers were cleared of racial harassment today after one admitted saying a black man looked like a monkey while another allegedly told a black colleague that she was 'going home to cook bananas'. Metropolitan Police constables Kevin Hughes, 36, and Pc David Hair, 42, were both found not guilty on two separate charges each at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court. PC Kevin Hughes, 42, was patrolling the East End of London in a squad . car when he made the remark about a black man looking like a monkey to colleague PC Costas Dakoutros. When challenged by PC Dakoutros, Hughes said ‘It’s true’ and added: . ‘They’re closely related to chimpanzees and more closely related to . Neanderthals.’ During the same patrol another workmate, PC Kirk Baker, heard Hughes . say: ‘Black people haven’t evolved, they live in mud huts in Africa.’ He went on to say that black people’s ‘sticking out ears and thick lips’ made them resemble primates. Prosecutors claimed the case revealed a culture of racism in the Victim . Offenders Location Time (VOLT) team which was based in Newham, one of . the most ethnically diverse areas of the country. But Hughes, along with PC David Hair, 36, a fellow member of the VOLT . team, was cleared of a public order offence and racially aggravated . harassment. Hughes wept as District Judge Howard Riddle announced the verdicts at . Westminster Magistrates’ Court, while Hair signed with relief. But today a police watchdog urged the Met to still consider taking legal action against the officers. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said Scotland Yard should 'seriously consider' its findings in relation to the case. IPCC commissioner Mike Franklin said: 'The IPCC’s investigation into alleged racist comments made by Pcs Hughes and Hair concluded in June when we passed our findings of potential gross misconduct to the Metropolitan Police Service for their consideration. 'I urge the Metropolitan Police Service to give serious consideration to the issues raised in our report. 'Any misconduct hearing will need to determine whether the comments are a breach of the professional standards expected of police officers.' Hair was alleged to have racially abused PC Julia Dacres while travelling in a police minibus last March 13. He asked her if she was going to do some overtime and then said: ‘I . didn’t know if you were going to go into a little rant and say how you . had to go home and cook bananas’. Hughes would also talk in a mock-Asian accent call other officers ‘auntie’ and ‘uncle’. He thought it was hilarious because he had dealt with Asian man who said . he was ‘visiting his aunty for a party’ in a very thick accent. Witnesses: Hair was alleged to have racially abused PC Julia Dacres, right. PC Kevin Hughes, 42, made the remark about a black man looking like a monkey to colleague PC Costas Dakoutros, left . He admitted he had referred to the men’s similarities to monkeys but . said it was during an innocent conversation about evolution and had . nothing to do with his race. ‘I just said it has nothing to do with him being black, I noticed him . because he had elongated limbs, his gait,’ Hughes told the court. Relief: PC Kevin Hughes arriving at Westminster Magistrates Court yesterday where he was cleared of threatening, abusive words or behaviour . ‘I said that was why I picked him out, because of the way he was walking - it was a fleeting glance. ‘I was just trying to reinforce my point that I believe that some human beings had characteristics that resemble monkeys.’ Hair admitted making the bananas comment, but denied that it was racially motivated. He told the court: 'I could've used any food but I'm aware that bananas are something that are cooked, sometimes as fritters. 'Unfortunately for me, I'm now aware that they are called plantain. 'As far as I'm aware a banana is a banana.' Senior District Judge Howard Riddle said: 'Whatever precisely Pc Hughes said, it was unacceptable and offensive.' He said that 'in these circumstances it did not amount to a criminal offence'. Noting that 'context is central', Mr Riddle pointed out there had been no aggression or threat. He said: 'Freedom of speech is a cherished principle. Freedom of speech includes the freedom to be offensive. 'It . is, of course, restrained in a number of ways - employers can require . employees to avoid offensive language or lose their jobs. The civil . courts can provide redress for harm caused. 'But when the state tells people . what they can or cannot say, on pain of criminal sanction, the position . is different. 'Citizens expect strong justification for curtailing . freedom of expression. Offensiveness is not enough. Context is central.' Hughes, of Ingrave, Essex, and Hair of Epping, Essex, were both found . not guilty of one count of using threatening, abusive, or insulting . words or behaviour to cause another person harassment, alarm, or . distress and alternative charge of racially aggravated harassment. The judge praised the MPS and CPS for bringing the case. In the dock: The trial took place at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court, pictured . | Metropolitan Police constables Kevin .
Hughes, 36, and Pc David Hair, 42, both found not guilty of racism charges .
‘Black people haven’t evolved, they live in mud huts in Africa,’ a colleague heard Hughes say .
Hair was alleged to have racially abused PC Julia Dacres while travelling in a police minibus .
Police watchdog urges Met to still consider disciplinary action against them . |
faec7e499f19461f8b575c08dfda21ac373c7f6c | (CNN) -- Events are unfolding at a rapid pace in Ferguson, Missouri. The city has been in turmoil since August 9, when a white city police officer fatally shot an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, in the middle of a street. Protesters and law enforcement officers have clashed in the streets. Here are the latest developments for Tuesday: . Another night of violence: . Once again, peaceful protests gave way to angry confrontations with police late Monday night into early Tuesday. After a handful of protesters threw rocks, bottles and Molotov cocktails, security forces responded with tear gas and stun grenades. Most of the demonstrators, however, tried to keep the peace. St. Louis County jail officials said at least 77 people were arrested, the vast majority of them on refusal to disperse charges. Some of them came from as far away as New York and California. Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, who is in charge of security in Ferguson, told CNN there were 50 to 60 arrests. Michael Brown's family: . The late teenager's mother, Lesley McSpadden, told NBC's "Today" show that the only way to end the unrest is "justice" -- which her family and their supporters have repeatedly tied to the arrest of the police officer who killed Brown. "Justice will bring peace, I believe," McSpadden said. The family's attorney, Benjamin Crump, also announced that Brown's funeral will be held Monday. Criminal proceedings: . A grand jury could begin to hear testimony as early as Wednesday from witnesses, according to Ed Magee, a spokesman for the St. Louis County prosecutor's office. They'll ultimately decide whether or not to return an indictment against Darren Wilson, the police officer who killed Brown. Federal investigation: . U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will visit Ferguson on Wednesday, in part to check on the investigation being handled by the Justice Department's civil rights division and the local U.S. Attorney's Office. In an op-ed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Holder said that a number of federal prosecutors and about 40 FBI agents have already been tasked with looking into the case. He said that hundreds of people have been interviewed and a team of medical examiners will conduct a second autopsy. Prosecuting attorney protest: . Dozens protested Tuesday outside the office of St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch, demanding that he recuse himself in the case. The Mound City Bar Association -- a Missouri-based organization that calls itself "one of the oldest black bar associations west of the Mississippi River" -- did the same in a statement. Some residents and community leaders claim McCulloch has deep ties to the police and has favored law enforcement in criminal cases. Yet the prosecutor has given no indications that he'll step away. School closures: . The situation remains so unstable that the Ferguson-Florissant School District said it is canceling classes for the rest of the week. Two nearby districts -- Jennings and Riverview Gardens -- opted to remain closed again Tuesday as well, according to CNN affiliate KMOV. In light of the closure, the Ferguson-Florissant School District is offering food assistance -- in the form of sack lunches -- to children and teenagers at five elementary schools between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Complete coverage of Ferguson shooting and protests . The investigation: . St. Louis County police are looking into Brown's shooting. President Obama has the Justice Department, including the FBI, looking into the case as well. The police officer: . Darren Wilson, 28, who has six years on the force with no disciplinary issues on his record, is on paid administrative leave. If he returns to duty, he would have to undergo two psychological evaluations, authorities said. He was briefly taken to the hospital after the confrontation with Brown for treatment of an injury that left his face swollen, according to the Ferguson police chief. Wilson has garnered more and more public support in recent days. That includes a rally held for him in St. Louis and a fundraising effort that had raised more than $36,000 from nearly 1,000 people as of Tuesday. Michael Brown's family: . They've hired lawyers and expressed outrage at how the police have handled things, including Friday's simultaneous release of the officer's name and surveillance video from the day of the shooting that showed a man identified in police documents as Brown roughing up a convenience store clerk while purportedly stealing cigars. The family and critics of the department have accused police of trying to damage Brown's character. Magazine: The Aftermath in Ferguson . Read more about the flash point in the Heartland at CNN.com/US . | NEW: Protesters call for the prosecuting attorney to recuse himself .
Michael Brown, 18, was shot dead by a police officer on August 9 .
His family and their supporters demand that the officer be charged .
The officer has gotten more and more public support in recent days . |
faeceacc1a38918830662ac126507630b83f5de4 | For the most part, train terminals are desperate places. They're an unavoidable evil linking us to somewhere else -- but not before assaulting us with tepid coffee, drafty waiting rooms and smelly, ugly ticket halls. Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal, which turns 100 this month, is a glorious exception. But it's not just its iconic opal-faced clock (a century old and valued at more than $10 million), flawless marble staircases (modeled on those in the Paris Opera House) and gleaming chandeliers (fitted with 35,000 custom-designed, low-energy light bulbs) that lend Grand Central a sense of golden age grandeur. The terminal -- not station, never station -- also has a fascinating history, with stories to rival Manhattan's better known, pointier landmarks. Listen: Grand Central's 100th birthday . 1913: Grand opening . While trains had been running in and out of Manhattan since 1871, it wasn't until the completion of Grand Central Terminal in 1913 that New York had itself a world renowned transportation icon. The Vanderbilt family constructed the 48-acre site (the little polished brass acorns adorning every clock and light fixture reflect the family symbol), inadvertently triggering a 20-year Midtown construction boom that added the likes of the Helmsley and Chrysler Buildings to the city's skyline. If it weren't for Grand Central, all those 1990s disaster movies would have looked very different. 1942: A president rolls in . At 200 feet, Grand Central boasts the deepest basement in New York City. This is where some of the terminal's shadiest secrets are concealed. Among them is a hidden platform connecting a presidential getaway train to an area beneath the Waldorf Astoria hotel. The secret platform was constructed for Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II. The polio-suffering president's armored carriage was specifically designed to limit lateral movement, allowing him to travel while keeping his disability secret from the American public. So why is it still a rusty relic beneath Grand Central, rather than a museum showpiece? Simple: It weighs 142 metric tons -- you try moving it. 1944: Winning the war . Another of the terminal's great subterranean secrets is M42 -- a hidden basement and the deepest accessible underground point in Manhattan. Not that you'll ever go there -- the existence of the area was officially denied by the building's owners until the late 1980s and it doesn't even appear on the original blueprints. So what's the big secret? The room -- named after Grand Central's 42nd Street location -- houses a series of rotary converters, which, back in the 1930s, provided the power that electrified the terminal's 63 tracks. During World War II, these tracks linked thousands of shaven grunts and other instruments of war to the ports that would ship them out to the front lines. Despite Grand Central's strategic significance, however, a bucket of sand tipped into one of these converters would have been enough to bring the terminal -- and 80% of the country's eastbound military movement -- to a standstill. This vulnerability was nearly exploited by a pair of Nazi saboteurs in November 1944, but their plot was scuppered by an FBI manhunt. Commuters join celebrities for Grand Central's 100th birthday . 1957: To infinity (but not much further) A small hole in the ceiling of the main concourse, just near the constellation of Pisces, is an unlikely legacy of the space race. The hole was left behind after a Redstone rocket was hoisted up inside the terminal in an attempt to get the U.S. public excited about space exploration. So eager was the government to counteract anxiety around the Russian Sputnik launch, that it forgot to check whether the rocket would fit in the building. 1968: Demolition looms . By the late 1960s, the growing popularity of interstate highways and air travel had taken a toll on the country's railroads, leaving Grand Central a stinking, hobo-infested eyesore. It was condemned to be demolished until the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission stepped in to declare the building a historic landmark. Grand Central was saved, but there was still the problem of what to do with the guys and gals using the Beaux Arts masterpiece as their own personal living quarters and latrine. Rather than force out the homeless, city officials addressed each and every member of Grand Central's homeless community on a case-by-case basis. The vast majority ended up in permanent housing. 1990: A green role model . While these days you'll do well to walk more than half a Manhattan block without tripping over some sort of green waste initiative, back in the early 1990s, Manhattan was chugging out as much CO2 as everyone else. Setting an example for contemporary recycling programs, Grand Central overnight became the biggest recycling plant in the United States when it introduced newspaper bins in 1990, collecting five tons of waste in its first day. However, not everyone loved the scheme. When The New York Times noticed the introduction of the bins coincided with a hefty dent in sales (thanks to commuters salvaging dumped papers rather than buying their own), they reacted swiftly. Since 2001, they've been paying a significant fee each year to maintain craftily designed bins that prevent people from removing discarded papers. 1998: A lick of paint . Grand Central's mid-1990s makeover took 12 years to complete. During this time everything from light bulbs to the gigantic ceiling skyscape were painstakingly scraped, scrubbed and polished back to their prewar glory. But what do you do when the quarries from which you procured your original marble have closed? Order them to be reopened, of course, and, while you're at it, pull masonry technicians out of retirement to make sure everything is properly prepared and fitted. This goes some way to explaining why the whole restoration project cost more than $160 million. 2000s: Top of the shops . Of the 700,000 people who pass through Grand Central every day, an estimated 10,000 don't have a ticket. They're not fare dodgers, they're shoppers, who together shell out $150 million every year on lattes, oyster dinners, MacBooks and more. The terminal houses 50 shops, 20 casual eateries and five restaurants and cocktail lounges. In terms of spend per square foot, that makes the terminal the most commercially successful shopping center in the United States. 2008: A viral hit . Grand Central has been immortalized in scores of Hollywood movies -- credits include "North By Northwest," "Serpico," "The Untouchables" and, um, "Little Nicky" -- but by far its most memorable theatrical moment came when drama collective ImprovEverywhere scared rush hour commuters with this incredible stunt. More than 200 of the group's "agents" froze perfectly still, in unison, for five minutes, giving everyone else the impression that they'd just stumbled upon some cataclysmic rift in the space-time continuum. The result? More YouTube views than Keyboard Cat. 2012: Storm savior . While its 100-year history has seen it take on the role of everything from government propaganda auditorium to glitzy shopping mall, Grand Central remains a transportation hub, and an efficient one. Just as it did on 9/11 -- when, despite all other transport networks shutting down, it had the city evacuated by 2 p.m. -- Grand Central played a key role in getting New Yorkers to safety ahead of October's superstorm Sandy. Very rarely has the terminal's marble concourse looked as cavernous as it did when the last Metro-North Railroad train fled to higher ground -- probably not since the Vanderbilts declared Grand Central open almost 100 years previously, in fact. iReport: Photos from the centennial celebration . 2013: 100 up . On February 1, 2013, this grand dame of the railway world celebrates its 100th birthday. A brass band will play on the main concourse, actors, poets and celebrities will swan around and shops and restaurants will adopt a 1913 pricing strategy -- including 6 cents for a loaf of rye bread from Zaro's Bakery and $2 for silk scarves from Toto. Grand Central Terminal, 87 E. 42nd St., New York; open daily from 5:30 a.m.-2 a.m.; www.grandcentralterminal.com . Details about centennial celebrations can be found online. | Terminal's opening turned New York into a world renowned transport icon .
Nazi sabotage event in 1944 foiled by the FBI .
Today, terminal is as much a tourist destination as a transport hub .
Per square foot, it's the most commercially successful shopping center in U.S. |
faed2212903d509d525d3181fbdfcd4d2e63f6cd | By . Bianca London . PUBLISHED: . 11:33 EST, 4 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 15:59 EST, 4 December 2013 . Victoria Beckham is one of the most enigmatic figures in showbiz. We know the facts of her public profile - as Posh Spice, Mrs Beckham or world-renowned fashion designer. Yet we know little about what makes this woman tick. But that could all be about to change. The successful mother-of-four is treating fans to a glimpse into her world as she teams up with Skype to tell the story of her burgeoning fashion label. The behind-the-scenes footage, which will begin broadcast in the New Year, will show Victoria 'in a previously unseen way', according to Skype. Victoria as you've never seen her before: Beckham is joining forces with Skype to broadcast behind-the-scenes footage in the run up to her AW14 show . A statement released today said: 'Skype will enable access to key milestones in her business, a behind-the-scenes view of how the company is run, an introduction to the team that Victoria has taken with her from the start, as well as the industry collaborators who have joined her along the way.' The footage will also 'highlight the journey of successful entrepreneur and creative professional and her global luxury fashion brand' as she presents her designs at New York Fashion Week in February 2014. After her show, the 39-year-old will . partake in an 'In Conversation With' session whereby a panel - made up . of members of the public - will be able to ask Victoria questions about . her work. Her husband David was full of praise for his fashion designer wife at the premiere of new documentary, The Class Of '92, at London's Odeon West End in Leicester Square on Sunday night. Backstage: Skype will show a behind-the-scenes view of how the company is run and an introduction to the team that Victoria has taken with her from the start . Her biggest fan: David Beckham, pictured with daughter Harper at Victoria's show, says he couldn't be more proud of his designer wife . The . star paid an emotional tribute to his wife and family, saying: 'I'm . always proud of her - of everything that she's achieved.' 'She's a very talented girl and, you know, we've got four amazing kids and we're very proud of them.' The fashion mogul this month unveiled a tightly edited selection of the most popular pieces from her Spring/Summer 2009 collection onwards. But . never one to take a day off, Victoria has already released a new . handbag, the Quincy, as well as revealing her AW13 and pre . S/S14 collections. New drop: Victoria Beckham, who has made no . secret of her desires to create a fashion empire, has this month unveiled her new . edit: ICON (L) icon polo shift dress, £1,650 (R) icon cap sleeve v neck . fitted dress, £1,050 . | Designer teams up with Skype to broadcast story of fashion label .
To 'highlight journey of successful entrepreneur and creative professional'
Will begin in New Year and celebrate key milestones of her business . |
faed4e42ba5c44b4a0e9b728121d7ad1b9a244d9 | By . Meghan Keneally . Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that some of the information that was used to locate and kill Osama bin Laden was attained using torture. The admission comes after months of speculation about the role that waterboarding plays in CIA interrogations following its graphic depiction in the Oscar-nominated film Zero Dark Thirty. 'In order to put the puzzle of intelligence together that led us to Bin Laden, there were a lot of pieces out there that were a part of that puzzle. Yes, some of it came from some of the tactics that were used at that time, interrogation tactics that were used,’ Panetta said Sunday during an appearance on Meet The Press. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Admission: Leon Panetta said some of the information that was used to locate and kill Osama bin Laden was attained using torture . Oscar winning pair: Kathryn Bigelow (left) and Mark Boal (right) previously paired up for The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty is their latest collaboration . 'But the fact is we put together most of that intelligence without having to resort to that. 'First of all, it’s a movie, let's remember that. I lived the real story with the Bin Laden operation.’ This is not the first time that Panetta, who is portrayed by James Gondolfini in the controversial film, has admitted that American investigators were aided by the information gathered using torture. Even in the months prior to the release of the film in December, many were raising concerns about the graphic torture scene that takes up much of the first fifteen minutes of the movie. Dianne Feinstein, the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, says that the interrogation of Bin Laden's courier, who then led U.S. military teams to the Al Qaeda leader's compound, did not involve any waterboarding. That particular questioning session was key to the case, as American authorities then trailed the courier who lead them to Bin Laden's compound in Pakistan, but Feinstein told The New Yorker that waterboarding was not used during the interrogation of the man. Director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal counter her claim without giving any specific details, saying that the film is based fully on first-hand accounts of the years of investigations. Their response to Feinstein's claims, however, gave a bit more room for creative license. 'It’s a movie, not a documentary,' Boal told The New Yorker. Cast and crew: Bigelo (center) and Boal (left) stand with stars Jason Clarke (center left), Jessica Chastain (center right) and Kyle Chandler (right) at a New York event for the film . Hints: A trailer for the film shows one agent (Jessica Chastain) watching footage of an intrrogation . Waterboarding is a controversial torture tactic that has been used been used by the CIA in their interrogation of terror suspects. The specifics of the tactics differ, but in most cases a cloth or plastic wrap is put over the suspect's face and then the agent proceeds to tour water on their head. It is thought to simulate drowning, and the bound suspect fears that their are about to die. The official stance on it's use has varied over the years, though the CIA has publicly confirmed that they have used the technique on at least three al Qaeda operatives, including self-proclaimed '9/11 mastermind' Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. 'We’re trying to make the point that waterboarding and other harsh tactics were part of the C.I.A. program.' Another criticism of the film was that . Bigelow and Boal (both of The Hurt Locker fame) received special . treatment by the Obama administration during the production stages of . the film, but both have denied such claims. 'It was all based on first hands . accounts so it really felt very vivid and very vital and very, very . immediate and visceral of course which is very exciting as a film . maker,' Bigelow said without revealing any specific sources. For the director, the jarring waterboarding scenes were the most difficult to film. ‘I wish that it wasn't a part of history, but it is and was,’ she said. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE . | Controversial film Zero Dark Thirty has graphic waterboarding scene .
Director Kathryn Bigelow says all information in the film was based on 'first hand accounts' of what happened but now Senator disputes theory . |
faed96e9e579e9ce0c7445156c5e2d0d43dff3a7 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 04:14 EST, 11 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:14 EST, 11 September 2013 . A shocking image of a woman apparently pointing a handgun at a child's head has prompted concerns for the toddler's welfare. The photograph has been shared on social media hundreds of times since it first appeared online last month as worried web users desperately try to identify the pair in order to alert the authorities. However, the search has been hindered by the lack of information about the picture's origins. Shocking: This photograph shared on Facebook appears to show a woman pointing a gun at a child . The photograph shows a young woman smiling as she points what looks like a pistol directly between the eyes of a child aged around two years old. There are few details about when or where it was taken, but it seems to have appeared originally on an Argentinian Facebook page around a month ago, suggesting the people in it are Latin American. The image sparked panic when it was posted on blogs which campaign against domestic abuse. No Longer Victims shared the photo, saying: 'If there is anybody that can help us to find this child, please please do so.' The blog later added: 'A baby can be traumatised like anybody that is a victim of abuse - and this is a form of abuse.' Facebook users have reacted with outrage to the image, with some calling it 'downright evil'. It is not known whether the gun shown in the picture is in fact real, or whether it is a capgun or a prop weapon. However, many people have suggested that even if it is some sort of replica, it is nonetheless irresponsible to expose such a young child to gun violence. | Origins of image unknown but it is believed to come from Latin America .
Internet users have been sharing the picture in a bid to identify the pair . |
faee0b03bf12794814af52cce7854748ca600de1 | The Royal baby will have the title His Royal Highness Prince [first name] of Cambridge, or Her Royal Highness Princess [first name] of Cambridge. The official title of William and Kate's first child, thought to be due on Saturday, 13 July, will be His or Her Royal Highness Prince or Princess [first name] of Cambridge, following the Dukedom gifted to William and his wife by the Queen as a wedding present in 2011. The baby will be born at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, west London, where William was born in 1982. The Royal couple's first child is due on Saturday, and will hold the title of Prince or Princess of Cambridge . The Mayor of Cambridge said it was a 'great honour' for the historic city (pictured: King's College Chapel in Cambridge) The Mayor of Cambridge, Councillor Paul Saunders, said it was a 'great honour' for the historic city. 'It is a great honour and I'm sure the people of Cambridge will appreciate it greatly,' he said. 'I think it's lovely to continue the close link with the Royal family. I think anything which helps to keep Cambridge in the public eye is a good thing as we rely on tourism.' Former Cambridge mayor Cllr Sheila Stewart, who met Kate on the royal visit to the city last year, added: 'It can only be good news for Cambridge. Everyone is so excited about it. The whole country is waiting for the birth.' The Dukedom of Cambridge was bestowed upon Prince William by the Queen on his wedding day, 29 April, 2011. Kate and William, pictured at the Trooping the Colour in London, currently have the title of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge . On 22 June 1982 a sign on an easel was placed at the gates of Buckingham Palace announcing the birth, the previous day, of Prince William - the same will happen this year with his child . On 31 December, the Queen declared all the Duke's children would be princes and princesses, with the style Royal Highness. A palace spokesman said: 'The royal couple's child will officially be known as His or Her Royal Highness Prince or Princess [first name] of Cambridge.' He said any other children the couple have will also be known by the same title. Kate will give birth at St Mary's Hospital in London, the same hospital in which William was born . In addition, the child will be called after the dukedom of Cambridge, making them Prince or Princess of Cambridge. William also received the titles Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus when he married. These are gifts from the Queen, chosen by her and based on both historical significance and personal preference. The Queen is permitted to choose whichever title she wishes to give, though it cannot be in use by another member of the family or aristocracy. It is possible that she chose Cambridge for William and Kate due to its ancient links with the Royal family. Speaking to MailOnline, St James's Palace said: . 'Cambridge and Strathern have had Royal connections since the fourteenth century in the peerages of England and Scotland, and were both available. 'Prince William is descended from the son of George III, who was created Duke of Cambridge in 1801 through Queen Mary. ‘Carrickfergus is a town in Northern Ireland, and Country Antrim's oldest town, with one of the best-preserved castles in Ireland.' Anticipation is mounting around the imminent birth, with photographers already camped out outside St Mary's Hospital. Once the baby has been safely delivered, Prince William's first call will be to the Queen on an encrypted phone. At the same time, the Royal couple's private secretary, Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton will inform Prime Minister David Cameron and a small number of other highly-placed individuals, including the Archbishop of Canterbury. Back at Buckingham Palace, officials will notify the head of each of the 54 Commonwealth countries and the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For the public, an official notice announcing the birth will be placed in a glass-fronted easel and attached to the gates of the Palace. Prince George of Cambridge . The royal baby will not be the first Prince or Princess of Cambridge. The last royals to hold the title were Prince George, Princess Augusta and Princess Mary of Cambridge, the grandchildren of George III, in the 19th century. The children were born to Prince Adolphus - the tenth child of King George III - and his wife Princess Augusta, also known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. All their children, born in 1819, 1822, 1833 were born His or Her Royal Highness Prince or Princess of Cambridge. The title Duke of Cambridge is part of the peerage, a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom. In modern practice, only members of the Royal Family are granted new hereditary peerages (the last non-royal hereditary peerages were created under the Thatcher government) The ranks of the English peerage are, from highest to lowest, Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron. The Dukedom of Cornwall, created in 1337, is always held by eldest son, and heir apparent, of the monarch, and is currently held by Prince Charles, with his wife Camilla becoming the Duchess of Cornwall. Prince Harry will most likely also be gifted a peerage by the Queen in the future. Peerages, like all modern British honours, are created by the British monarch and take effect when letters patent are affixed with the Great Seal of the Realm. Her Majesty's Government advises the Sovereign on a new peerage. The Great Seal of the Realm, which makes the bestowed title official, is an ancient seal used to symbolise the Sovereign's approval of important state documents and legitimatise them. Sisters Mary (right) and Augusta (left) were both born Princess of Cambridge . The wax is melted in a metal mould and pressed into a wax figure that is attached by cord or ribbon to documents that the monarch wishes to make official. The British Royal Family has created the Dukedom of Cambridge numerous times in its history. It was first used as a designation for Charles Stuart (1660–1661), the eldest son of James, Duke of York (later King James II). The first royal family member to have the peerage Duke of Cambridge bestowed upon him was in James Stuart, son of the Duke of York, in 1664. James, Duke of Cambridge died young and without heirs, and the title became extinct. The following two creations of the title had similar bad luck. Edgar Stuwart and Charles Stewart, who received the title in 1667 and 1677, respectively, both died young, having neither married or had children, meaning the title died out for several years. The Great Seal of the Relm, which makes the bestowed title official, is an ancient seal that is used to symbolise the Sovereign's approval of important state documents . | Royal baby will hold title HRHPrince or Princess [first name] of Cambridge .
William and Kate are currently Duke and Duchess of Cambridge .
Mayor of Cambridge says it will be a 'great honour' for the historic city .
Due date of couple's first child thought to be Saturday, 13 July .
Duchess will give birth in St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, west London .
All of the couple's children will carry the same title . |
faee2e02df8ab292814611323d889cb5aca86d7c | Happy birthday, Gloria Steinem! The "Face of Feminism" turns 80 Tuesday, and guess what? Feminism seems to be turning the corner -- again. Many young women are now embracing the term and rejecting the notion that feminists are hairy, ugly, man-hating, angry women. Heck, even Beyonce appeared on the cover of Steinem's magazine, Ms., last year. And lest critics point to Beyonce's overt sexuality as evidence of her hypocrisy, this year Queen Bey took it a step further and wrote an essay for "The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Pushes Back from the Brink." In it, Beyonce Knowles-Carter (note the hyphenated name!) proclaimed that "gender equality is a myth!" She went on to write, "the average working woman earns only 77 percent of what the average working man makes. But unless women and men both say this is unacceptable, things will not change." A few years ago, Emma Watson told People magazine of her "Harry Potter" character, "Hermione's not scared to be clever. I think sometimes really smart girls dumb themselves down a bit, and that's bad." Watson added she's a lot like Hermione: "I'm a bit of a feminist. I'm very competitive and challenging." That's not to say all young women feel the same. Or certain older men. 5 reasons why we love Gloria Steinem . Rush Limbaugh perverts the word "feminist" all the time. He likes to call his targets "feminist extremists" and "feminazis." In 2012, Limbaugh took on Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke. She testified before Congress about the need for her Jesuit university to provide contraception insurance coverage for female students. She even admitted to being an "American woman who uses contraceptives." Oh, my! Limbaugh promptly labeled her a "feminazi" and a "slut." Or to quote the big man himself, "So, Ms. Fluke and the rest of you feminazis, here's the deal. If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex, we want something for it, and I'll tell you what it is. We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch." It so evokes Bobby Riggs, right? A pro tennis player who, on September 20, 1973, challenged Billie Jean King to a tennis match because "the best way to handle women is to keep them barefoot and pregnant." Happy 80th, Gloria Steinem . Courtney Martin, who co-edited Feministing.com -- a widely read and influential feminist blog -- and author of "Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters," says many young women have been afraid of the word "feminist" because it's been the target of a powerful smear campaign for decades. But, thanks largely to the Internet, smears like Limbaugh's are losing their power. At Feministing.com, she says, "we get mail from teenaged girls in the middle of Iowa who say ... 'I stumbled on your site and realized feminism isn't about man-hating and Birkenstocks.' " It's actually "kind of cool and counter-cultural." Wow. Really? Martin says yes. Because today's feminist movement realized it had to embrace aesthetics. Beauty and fun and relationships matter, too. So does the cool factor. Jon Stewart, anyone? Stewart has a cultural agenda, he's cool, and young people follow him in droves. Jessica Valenti, an author sometimes described as a feminist evangelist, says that when she delivered talks on feminism on college campuses a few years ago, one or two hands went up when she asked who considered themselves a feminist. Today, she says, "now almost all of them do." And, says Martin, it's not just because of "cool" or contraception or abortion rights. It's because of a more evolved definition of feminism. "Feminism means a fight for others," Martin said. It's about living a "feminist life." That means equality for everyone: women, children and, yes, men. That includes advocating on issues like immigration, human trafficking and so much more. Perhaps Lena Chen, an activist and media commentator for Salon, Glamour and her own blog, put it best. "In my lifetime feminism has evolved far beyond the binary identity politics of women vs. men," she wrote in an e-mail. "To me, feminism is one part of a larger global movement for liberation. Gender norms dictating how you ought to behave, dress, marry, or work are oppressive regardless of what body you inhabit or how you identify yourself." She says social media have helped many young activists in her generation speak with powerful voices. They no longer need one "figurehead" in "order to create change." They just need each other. So, happy birthday, Gloria. On your 80th birthday, feminism has indeed turned a corner. We'll have to see how far it has gone when you turn 90. Or 100. | The face of feminism, Gloria Steinem, turns 80 on Tuesday .
Carol Costello says feminism is popular with young women, who reject stereotypes .
Rush Limbaugh railed against Sandra Fluke, but his jibes cut little weight with many, she says .
Young women see the value in speaking out against gender bias, she says . |
faee8d0473a3f9b140679c972ad8ad49d6692b8b | How many calories are in there? Research has revealed that the average Briton's lunch could harbour more calories and fat than the rest of your daily meals put together . With working hours mounting, lunch is often grabbed on the run in the middle of a hectic day. While your innocent sandwich may seem like a convenient option, experts claim that many seemingly nutritious lunchtime snack choices are laden with unhealthy ingredients. Research has revealed that the average Briton's lunch could harbour more calories and fat than the rest of their daily meals put together. In fact, some sandwiches contain as much salt as nine bags of crisps and are also high in fat and calories, found Which?. That said, we need between 400-600 calories for lunch to sustain us through a hectic working day so how do you fuel your day the healthy way? A raw food company says they have the answer as they are offering sandwiches packed with vegetables to revitalise lunchtimes. London-based company Raw Imagination, which was established after one of the founders cured their asthma via a raw food diet, has created healthy sandwich alternatives to classic favourites. Every £5.99 sandwich is dehydrated (mimicking sun drying) and takes over 30 hours to make. 'You can't rush nature,' said founder Alex Stanton. They decided to use coconut for bacon, walnuts and mushrooms for beef, sunflower seeds for chicken and cashew nuts for cheese and for the "bread" they use sunflower seed, flax, onion and olive oil bread. One of their most popular is a wholesome spin on the traditional British sandwich - a raw BLT. Instead of bread, they use nuts and seeds to create something akin to flaxseed and then cram it full of vegetables and smother it with coconut bacon - a mixture of coconut chips and smoked paprika. They also offer a sandwich filled with sunflower goujons and a falafel sandwich with Brazil nut hummus. Healthy alternative? Raw Imagination is a London company offering more virtuous sandwiches. Instead of bread, they use nuts and seeds to create something akin to flaxseed and then cram it full of vegetables . Instead of a beefburger, the duo offer a portobello mushroom coated in 'cheese' - a cashew sauce. Speaking to MailOnline, the Stanton brothers said: 'Loving sandwiches and living on this lifestyle we noticed a gap in the market where we could offer healthy alternatives to typical sandwiches and snacks. Our idea was to develop a range of ready-to-eat, on the go, raw, vegan, fresh and organic food. Nothing like this in the world seemed to exist. This is where the idea of Raw Imagination spawned from. 'We really wanted to start a RAWvolution. Our thinking behind the range was to turn "junk food" into health food, no easy task. We also wanted to make our food look like the traditional sandwiches that we all know but to ensure that they tasted even better. 'We went to work and spent hours on end trying to perfect our ideas and unique recipes. After much trial and error we managed to find the perfect blend of ingredients to create the sandwiches we currently sell today.' Raw Imagination is a family fun business run by two brothers, Alex and Oli Stanton, Nicole Nicolaou. Their mother does the admin, their father helps make the sandwiches, and their aunty is the delivery driver. Speaking about the future of the business, they said: 'We have been running for a little under a year and so far the business has trebled. We have lots of other healthy and exciting ideas that we are working on and some are already in development. Regarding the existing range, we are looking to spread the word far and wide. Ideally we would like to see our food in every health food store in London and eventually the UK.' Wholesome ingredients: Instead of a beefburger, the duo offer a portobello mushroom coated in 'cheese' - a cashew sauce - and healthy coleslaw . So are the raw snacks as good as they sound? Cassandra Barns, Nutritionist at NutriCentre.com, thinks so. She said: 'This is an excellent alternative to fast food or a standard sandwich. The "bread" is made from nuts, seeds and coconut, which provide healthy fats and more protein compared to standard bread, and more vitamins and minerals – especially when compared to white bread. 'This also means that it will have a lower glycaemic index than bread, so it has less of an effect on your blood sugar, and should fill you up for longer. It’s also great alternative for those who are avoiding gluten (or grains in general) because of a food intolerance. The filling includes lots of vegetables, again providing vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. 'And the vegan alternative to bacon sounds good too – the coconut will provide more fibre and healthier fats than bacon, but is just as filling. The one possible drawback is that all the nuts, seeds and coconut could be difficult to digest for some people, especially those who are not used to eating lots of raw food.' The healthy snacks may be welcome news after research revealed that 3.5m Brits haven’t eaten a vegetable in the last week. The ‘Vege-nation’ study commissioned by Birds Eye revealed that over half the nation (53 per cent) eat two or fewer portions of vegetables each day, with nearly one in ten Brits (seven per cent) eating fewer veg now than they did as a child. One in seven (14 per cent) said that one reason they don’t eat enough vegetables is because they struggle to find exciting ways to prepare them while a quarter (27 per cent) avoid vegetables because they don't know how to cook them properly. Almost a quarter (23 per cent) said they avoid buying vegetables because they have such a short shelf life and go rotten too quickly. Meanwhile, more than one in ten Brits (11 per cent) are put off eating vegetables because of childhood traumas and bad memories of school dinners. Worryingly, four per cent of Brits believe that pasta and cornflakes make up one of your ‘five-a-day’ and a disillusioned two per cent admitted they thought cottage cheese and croissants constitute one of their ‘five a day’. Tipper Lewis, Head Herbalist at Neal's Yard Remedies, added: 'There has been such a notable movement towards consumers eating clean and taking responsibility for their health. Encouraging a healthy lifestyle is something we have always been very passionate about at Neal's Yard Remedies, we have always believed in educating our customers on ingredients so that they can make informed decisions on what to feed their bodies with. 'Superfood's are natures most nutritionally dense foods packed full of nutrients including vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and pack a supercharged boost of energy.' Livening up lunchtime: London company Raw Imagination was established after one of the founders cured their asthma via a raw food diet and they sell their products at Planet Organic . | Average Brit's lunch has more calories than rest of daily meals altogether .
Now Raw Imagination offers £5.99 virtuous raw sandwiches .
Instead of bread, they use flaxseed and create healthy sauces .
Some supermarket sandwiches contain as much salt as nine bags of crisps .
Over half the nation eat two or fewer portions of vegetables each day .
4% of Brits think pasta and corn flakes make up their five-a-day . |
faee94e157bb1ece782a57ac23d0f0fdb7a080ad | By . Chris Brooke . PUBLISHED: . 09:10 EST, 2 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 20:32 EST, 2 November 2012 . Jailed: Builder Harry Rowbottom . A TAX-dodging builder who took . cash-in-hand for his entire career told HMRC inspectors when they . knocked on his door, ‘I’ve been waiting for you for 27 years.’ Harry Rowbottom, 58, worked as a . self-employed builder, plumber and gas installer after setting up his . own business in the early 1980s. No job was too small... but he was always paid in cash, which he failed to declare to the taxman for a staggering 27 years. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs . estimated he owed £117,602, made up of £64,674 in unpaid income tax and . national insurance, plus interest. However, the complete lack of . paperwork and proof of the number of jobs he was paid for means the true . extent of his tax evasion may have been significantly higher. When investigators knocked on his door . during routine inquiries to catch tax-dodging tradesmen, he immediately . admitted responsibility, and said: ‘I’ve been waiting for you for 27 . years.’ His lawyer said he was relieved finally to be caught. Rowbottom was jailed for 14 months at . Grimsby Crown Court this week after pleading guilty to fraud, and was . ordered to pay his dues in full or face a longer term behind bars. He . was also ordered to pay £1,500 costs. Gordon Stables, prosecuting, told the court he was caught by an HMRC campaign centred on self-assessment by plumbers. The drive has already led to £4million in outstanding tax being paid back. The court heard there was evidence of . Rowbottom working around Barton-upon-Humber, Lincolnshire, where he . lived with his partner, but bank accounts revealed that he apparently . had no regular source of income. He was arrested in November last year . and admitted working for cash that was never paid into a bank account. He also admitted not keeping proper records for a property he had owned . since 2001. He also owned plots of land. Judge Robert Moore told him: ‘For 27 years you paid no tax and national insurance. ‘You know the matter is so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified. ‘Fortunately, the Revenue will get back the capital and interest.’ Richard Hackfath, defending, said Rowbottom had sufficient assets to pay in full and would do so as soon as possible. Caught out: Gordon Stables, prosecuting, told Grimsby Crown Court that Rowbottom was caught as part of a campaign by Revenue and Customs targeting self-assessment by plumbers . Explaining the long-running fraud, he . said: ‘He let matters ride. He was relieved to be caught and to be no . longer listening for a knock on the door from Revenue and Customs.’ An HMRC spokesman said there was no . evidence Rowbottom was living a lavish lifestyle and his was a classic . case of ‘bury your head in the sand syndrome’. She added: ‘A lot of people are paid . in cash but it’s how they declare it that counts. As long as they put it . on their tax return they can get paid how they want.’ | Harry Rowbottom, 58, from Barton-Upon-Humber, East Yorkshire, admitted cheating the public revenue between 1983 and 2010 .
Total he should have paid in 27 years was £64,674 - or £117,602 with interest . |
faef3b852e2fea14a950a3f08ea018c65e992f80 | It's a royal tradition that began in 1912 but while the Queen, Prince Charles and Camilla have all attended, the younger generation of royals are yet to appear at a Royal Variety Performance. Now all that is set to change after Kensington Palace announced that the guestlist for next week's show includes the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Performing on the night are Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, Dame Shirley Bassey and Bette Midler, with comedy coming from Russell Kane and Jack Whitehall. Attending: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will attend this year's Royal Variety Performance . On the bill: Award-winning signer Ed Sheeran and comedian Jack Whitehall are both in the line-up . Also on the programme are Demi Lovato, Britain’s Got Talent winners Collabro, the cast of multi-award winning musical Miss Saigon, critically acclaimed tenor Alfie Boe and Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s Inala. The event, which will take place at the London Palladium, will be hosted by comedian Michael McIntyre. Traditionally, the Queen has taken it in turns with the Prince of Wales to attend the show and it had been expected to be the Queen’s turn this year. But instead, William and Kate will take their seats in what royal watchers say is a further sign of the monarch's esteem for her grandson and his wife. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: 'The Duke and Duchess are delighted to attend the forthcoming Royal Variety Performance. Form: Ellie Goulding last performed for royalty when she sang at the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games . Comic: The enormously popular comedian Michael McIntyre will be acting as compère on the night . Last visit: The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh last attended the Royal Variety Performance in 2012 . 'Members of the Royal Family will continue to support the gala evenings. As with any other invitation, attendance by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.' The Queen, who has a busy November schedule that includes regular audiences and investitures, will continue to take part in other big public events, including this weekend's Remembrance Sunday commemorations. Last year saw the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall take their seats in the royal box with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh doing the honours in 2012, although the Princess Royal did the job in 2011. The Royal Variety Performance is held in aid of the Entertainment Artistes’ Benevolent Fund, of which the Queen is patron. Hello possums! Charles and Camilla found themselves sitting with Dame Edna Everage at last year's show . Tradition: The Royal Variety Performance began in 1912. The Queen is seen here at the show in 1985 . Spectacular: The finale of last year's Royal Variety Performance, as enjoyed by Prince Charles and Camilla . Begun in 1912, the first show was held in front of King George V and Queen Mary at the Palace Theatre in London. In July 1919, a second royal show was performed, again in front of the royal couple, and was billed as a post-war celebration of peace. It became an annual event at the suggestion of George V in 1921, when the King decreed that 'the monarch, or a representative of the monarch, would attend an annual performance in aid of Brinsworth House and the Variety Artistes’ Benevolent Fund, once a year thereafter'. The show will be screened on ITV in December. | William and Kate are attending in place of the Queen and Prince Philip .
Usually either the monarch or the Prince of Wales and Camilla attend .
Palace said the Queen's schedule is planned on a 'case-by-case' basis .
Acts performing include Jack Whitehall, Ed Sheeran and Ellie Goulding . |
faeff43593b6d80c439207f422b080190b2dc903 | To highlight the current Movember campaign, former Head of Sport at the Daily Mail, Bryan Cooney, interviewed fellow prostate cancer sufferer, Scotland legend Denis Law. Here, Cooney reveals the illuminating results. There's no discernible reluctance in Denis Law to recall one of the most embarrassing own goals in medical history. He whisks you back to 2003 and a doctor’s consulting room. He’s there at the behest of an anxious wife; he’s experiencing a troublesome ache in the lower abdomen. The biopsies have been performed and now, three agonising weeks later, the specialist delivers a sombre conclusion. The football legend has prostate cancer. Law becomes a man in torment. He swoons. Embarrassing, or what? Former Manchester United striker Denis Law has opened up about being diagnosed with prostate cancer . He delivers his recollections with a nervous laugh, but if he experienced humiliation that day, the scar is not evident. ‘I think that they thought in there that I’d had a heart attack. Because, as soon as he told me, I said I didn’t feel well. ‘Hey, I wasn’t laughing at the time. I obviously conked out. Fainted. I was completely out. It’s the Law Family trait that we don’t like hearing bad news.’ This interview with the Lawman is being filmed courtesy of the Movember campaign. It pursues a certain logic: two Aberdonians, who once lived less than a mile apart, locked into an insidious common denominator; one victim of prostate cancer being quizzed by another. Law is the epitome of punctuality. Right on the appointed hour of noon, he steps into the capacious lounge of the Northenden Golf Club. It’s a holiday home to him, a place where he can be himself. The last time we met here he was in proletariat mode, demolishing sausage, egg and chips. Time tends to blur memories, of course, but he’s far more amenable now. At that time, he was about to launch another autobiography and figured that too much compliance with me would somehow inhibit sales. This time he is generosity itself. Law (left) discusses being diagnosed with prostate cancer with Bryan Cooney (right) Now, he finds himself in a penalty box he never infiltrated in his playing days when he scored more than 250 goals, most of them for Manchester United. This one delineates the grey area between life and death. It tends to focus minds. Let’s return, for one moment, to that display in the doctor’s surgery and consider the paradoxes at work here. In spite of his apparently flimsy body structure, Law was an authentic tough hombre who, for two decades, defied the various malignancies of footballers trying to break him physically and psychologically. Ignoring the height and physical superiority of his tormentors, he’d laugh in their faces when he was kicked, mentally consulting his diary and pencilling in a painful retribution. This was rarely delayed. A few decades later, he keels over at a medical diagnosis. It scarcely equates with reason. Mind you, he has always been two distinct and enigmatic personages. Away from football, he remains one of the most self effacing men on the planet. Whenever he attends an official function, for instance, he always asks a companion to accompany him to the toilet just in case he is claimed by hero-worshiping fans. He doesn’t favour fuss. The pair have been treated for prostate cancer and the video encourages men to get involved with Movember . In contrast, on the professional field of his dreams, he seemed to encourage it. Here, the message was all about theatrics and melodrama. We return to that consulting room. The man has emerged from the swoon, but the landscape is, if anything, grimmer and more industrial as ever. He is presented with a list of options. Radiotherapy is mooted. The trouble is if this does not demolish the tumour, then he can’t have the operation known as a radical prostatectomy. So that’s delete. There’s another form of treatment that he doesn’t even wish to talk about. So that’s discarded. He opts for an appointment with the knife. ‘I’d rather get rid of whatever I’ve got,’ he says. You can see he’s reliving the moment: he’s wringing his hands so hard that you expect to see water emerge at any time. ‘We’re all cowards, men.’ We return to the emotional front. Certainly, mine were scattered after my operation. One day, in intensive care and attached to myriad tubes, I’m laughing hysterically at the incongruity of it all; the next, I’m sobbing my heart out after listening to some poignant music. I only stop when I remember the words of an old newspaper boss of mine about never showing emotion. Manchester United boss Sir Matt Busby pours champagne for Denis Law after winning the First Division title . Busby with Law (L-R), Tony Dunne, Billy Foulkes, Bobby Noble, Alex Stepney, David Sadler and George Best . I notice Law’s eyes are glistening. ‘Hey, (initially) you think you’re not going to see the family again - the grandchildren. For me, initially, it was the end of the world. Why me? Then you find out you’re not alone any more. There are thousands (like you). You put things into perspective. ‘You look at others and know that you’re not too bad. But, as I say, it’s not easy to be unemotional, Cancer? Jesus! What is this?’ And what about the possible diminishment of sexual activity? He brushes this aside as if it were mere dust on the mantelpiece. ‘Don’t forget, I had five children. So things were not in that other part of the world the important thing. The importance had to be to get back into a healthy state and return into a normal life.’ Law and I are at different places with the illness. I’ve had the surgery and the radiotherapy, and next week I start the hormone treatment. Law, at 74 four years my senior, seems to be managing the disease that bit better. I sincerely hope his situation doesn’t change. Legends come. Legends go. Denis Law, hopefully, is going nowhere. CLICK HERE for an extended video of Denis Law discussing prostate cancer . | Denis Law was one of Sir Matt Busby's Manchester United players in 1960s .
Scottish striker fainted when told he was diagnosed with prostate cancer .
Law scored 30 goals in 55 appearances for Scotland from 1958-1974 . |
faf00b37eb5abed38fd70250698132db9a974e83 | (CNN) -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney addressed the Republican National Convention on Wednesday. Here is the text of that speech: . Former Gov. Mitt Romney says Sen. John McCain will rein in government spending. Romney: Thank you. Thank you so very much. Ann and I love you all. We have a deep feeling in our hearts for you. We respect you for the values you have and the vision we have for America together. Thank you so much, our dear friends. We sure love you. Thank you. You know, for decades now, the Washington sun has been rising in the east. You see, Washington has been looking to the eastern elites, to the editorial pages of the Times and the Post, and to the broadcasters from the -- from the coast. Yes. Watch Romney's entire speech » . If America really wants to change, it's time to look for the sun in the west, because it's about to rise and shine from Arizona and Alaska. Last week, the Democratic convention talked about change. But what do you think? Is Washington now, liberal or conservative? Let me ask you some questions. Is a Supreme Court decision liberal or conservative that awards Guantanamo terrorists with constitutional rights? It's liberal. Is a government liberal or conservative that puts the interests of the teachers union ahead of the needs of our children? It's liberal. Is a Congress liberal or conservative that stops nuclear power plants and off-shore drilling, making us more and more dependent on Middle Eastern tyrants? It's liberal. Is government spending, putting aside inflation, liberal or conservative if it doubles since 1980? It's liberal. We need change all right: change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington. We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington: Throw out the big-government liberals and elect John McCain and Sarah Palin. It's the same prescription for a stronger economy. I spent 25 years in the private sector. I've done business in many foreign countries. I know why jobs come and why they go away. And I know that liberals don't have a clue. They think that we have the biggest and strongest economy in the world because of our government. They're wrong. America is strong because of the ingenuity, and entrepreneurship, and hard work of the American people. The American people have always been the source of our nation's strength, and they always will be. We strengthen our people and our economy when we preserve and promote opportunity. Opportunity is what lets hope become reality. Opportunity expands when there's excellence and choice in education, when taxes are lowered, when every citizen has affordable, portable health insurance, and when constitutional freedoms are preserved. Opportunity rises when children are raised in homes and schools that are free from pornography, and promiscuity, and drugs, where there are homes that are blessed with family values and the presence of a mom and a dad. America -- America cannot long lead the family of nations if we fail the family here at home. You see, liberals would replace opportunity with dependency on government largesse. They grow government and raise taxes to put more people on Medicaid, to take work requirements out of welfare, and to grow the ranks of those who pay no taxes at all. Dependency is death to initiative, to risk-taking and opportunity. It's time to stop the spread of government dependency and fight it like the poison it is. You know, it's time for the party of big ideas, not the party of Big Brother. Our economy is under attack. China is acting like Adam Smith on steroids, buying oil from the world's worst and selling nuclear technology. Russia and the oil states are siphoning more than $500 billion a year from us in what could become the greatest transfer of economic wealth in the history of the world. This is no time for timid, liberal, empty gestures. Our economy has slowed down this year, and a lot of people are hurting. What happened? Mortgage money was handed out like candy, and speculators bought homes for free. And when this mortgage mania finally broke, it slammed the economy. And stratospheric gas prices made things even worse. Democrats want to use the slowdown as an excuse to do what their special interests are always begging for: higher taxes, bigger government, and less trade with other nations. It's the same path Europe took a few decades ago. It leads to moribund growth and double-digit unemployment. The right course is the one championed by Ronald Reagan 30 years ago and by John McCain and Sarah Palin today. The right course is to rein in government spending, lower taxes, take a Weedwacker to excessive regulation and mandates, put a stop to tort windfalls, and to stand up to the Tyrannosaurus appetite of government unions. The right course -- the right course is to pursue every source of energy security, from new efficiencies to renewables, from coal to non-CO2 producing nuclear, and for the immediate drilling for more oil off our shores. And I have -- I have one more recommendation for energy conservation: Let's keep Al Gore's private jet on the ground. Last week, last week, did you hear any Democrats talk about the threat from radical, violent jihad? No. You see, Republicans believe that there is good and evil in the world. Ronald Reagan called out the evil empire. George Bush labeled the terror-sponsor states exactly what they are: The axis of evil. And at Saddleback, after Barack Obama dodged and ducked every direct question, John McCain hit the nail on the head: Radical, violent Islam is evil, and he will defeat it. This party... You're hearing it here. You're hearing it here, and they're hearing it across the country. You see, in this party, in this room tonight, and all over America, people in our party prefer straight talk to politically correct talk. Republicans, led by John McCain and Sarah Palin, will fight to preserve the values that have preserved the nation. We'll strengthen our economy and keep us from being held hostage by Putin, Chavez, and Ahmadinejad. And we will never allow America to retreat in the face of evil extremism. Just like you, just like you, there's never been a day when I was not proud to be an American. We -- we Americans inherited the greatest nation in the history of the Earth. It's our burden and our privilege to preserve it, to renew its spirit so that its noble past is prologue to its glorious future. To this we're all dedicated. And I firmly believe, by the providence of the almighty, that we will succeed. President McCain and Vice President Palin will keep America as it has always been: The hope of the Earth. Thank you, and God bless America. | Romney: The right course is the one championed by Ronald Reagan .
Romney: Republicans prefer straight talk to politically correct talk .
Romney: It's time for the party of big ideas, not the party of Big Brother . |
faf05cc938b1a4f8dbf12b05bea403d73b055919 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 05:50 EST, 3 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 12:37 EST, 3 January 2014 . Back on top: Microsoft boss Bill Gates is back at the head of the world's rich list as he added over $15billion to his total wealth . The world's richest people grew even richer in 2013, adding $524 billion to their collective net worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world's 300 wealthiest individuals. The total worth of the world's top billionaires stood at $3.7 trillion at the market close on Dec. 31, according to the ranking. Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder, was the year's biggest gainer, as he regained the title of world's richest man, knocking Mexican Carlos Slim off the top spot. The 58-year-old chairman of Microsoft's fortune increased by $15.8 billion to $78.5 billion. The news came as figures showed shares of Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, rose 40 percent. Mr Gates's assets are mostly held in . Cascade Investment LLC. Through these investments he owns stakes in about . three dozen publicly traded companies and several closely held . businesses. Elite: Sheldon Adelson's (left) Las Vegas Sands Corp had a revenue of $13.2 billion in the 12 months ending September 30, while Amancio Ortega (right) retained the title of Europe's richest person . Business leader: 58 year-old Gates's wealth to $78.5 billion, according to Bloomberg's index, as shares of Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, rose by 40 per cent . Investment: Less than a quarter of Bill Gates's wealth comes from Microsoft . Mr Gates's assets have enjoyed a boost from a . rally in stock holdings that include the Canadian National Railway Co. and sanitizing-products maker Ecolab Inc., which rose 34 percent and 45 . percent respectively. Investment in these companies mean that Gates has stakes in Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Corbis Corp., a photo-archive company. John Pinette, a spokesman for Gates, declined to comment. The most striking figures came from the technology sector, which soared 28 percent during the year. Only 70 out of 300 registered a net loss for the 12-month period. John Catsimatidis, the billionaire founder of real estate and energy conglomerate Red Apple Group Inc said: 'The rich will keep getting richer in 2014. 'Interest rates will remain low, equity markets will keep rising, and the economy will grow at less than 2 percent.' Microsoft accounts for less than 25 per cent of Gates's fortune. The software tycoon has donated $28 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. A surge in global stocks in 2013 mean that last year was the best annual gain since 2009. The MSCI World Index advancing 24 percent during the year to close at 1,661.07 on Dec. 31. The Standard and Poor's 500 Index rose 30 percent to close at 1,848.36, its best yearly gain since 1997. 1. Bill Gates - $78.5B2. Carlos Slim - $72B3. Amancio Ortega - $65.2B4. Warren Buffett - $60.3B5. Ingvar Kamprad - $52.8B6. Charles Koch - $50B7. David Koch - $50B8. Larry Ellison $43.3B9. Christy Walton - $39.1B10. Sheldon Adelson - $37.5B . The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 17 percent to close at 328.26. Companies in the S&P 500 are worth $3.7 trillion more today than they were 12 months ago following a year when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signaled the curtailment of economic stimulus. The bull market, born at the depths of the credit crisis, enters its sixth year fueled by near-zero interest rates and conviction among investors that it's finally safe to own equities again. Las Vegas Sands Corp. founder Sheldon Adelson was the second-biggest gainer in 2013, adding $14.4 billion to his net worth as the company's shares rose 71 percent. Revenue from the six gaming operators of China's only legal casinos rose 18.6 percent to 360.75 billion patacas ($45.2 billion) last year. Las Vegas Sands had revenue of $13.2 billion in the 12 months ending Sept. 30. Slim lost $1.4 billion during 2013. His America Movil SAB, the largest mobile-phone operator in the Americas, dropped 12 percent in the first three months of the year after Mexico's Congress passed a bill to quash the billionaire's market dominance. The company finished the year up 2 percent after a planned expansion into Europe was reined in, reassuring investors who were leery about the billions of dollars in investment the strategy would require. Billionaire: Las Vegas Sands Corp. founder Sheldon Adelson was the second-biggest gainer in 2013, adding $14.4 billion to his net worth . Industry growth: Gaming revenue from the six operators of China's only legal casinos rose 18.6 per cent to 360.75 billion patacas ($45.2 billion) last year . 'Billionaires are asking what they . should do with their money in 2014,' Mark Haefele, Global Head of . Investment for UBS AG's wealth-management unit, said. 'Central banks will continue to be supportive, so equities will likely continue to rise during the year.' Bloomberg News revealed 109 new billionaires in 2013. None of them have never appeared on an international wealth ranking. For example, Lynsi Torres is the youngest female billionaire in the U.S. The 31-year-old heiress to In-N-Out Burger has inherited a family chain which grew from a single drive-through hamburger stand founded in 1948 in Baldwin Park, California, to become a fast-food empire. The company is now valued at more than $1 billion. A negative story to emerge from these figures is Eike Batista, whose net worth slumped by more than $12 billion during the . year. OGX Petroleo & Gas Participacoes SA, the oil company that . transformed him into Brazil's richest man, went bankrupt in October. Philanthropist: Gates has donated $28 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation . In March 2012 Batista was the world's eighth-richest person. He now has a negative net worth. Amancio Ortega retains the title of Europe's richest person. Inditex SA, the world's largest clothing retailer, rose 14 percent during the year. The billionaire is reported to have recently acquired an office building in London's West End for £410 million. Sergey Galitskiy, founder of OAO Magnit, Russia's largest food retailer, added $5.3billion to his net worth in 2013, more than any other Russian billionaire. The 46-year-old has a $13.8 billion fortune. Russia's richest person is Alisher Usmanov, 60, with a net worth of $20.2billion. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia is still the the Middle East's wealthiest person, enbding the year with a net worth of $32.4 billion. That is, up $3.7 billion for the year. Aliko Dangote is Africa's richest person. The founder of Dangote Group acquired $9.2 billion during the year, making him the 30th-richest person in the world. | Top 300 billionaires add $524 billion to their net worth in 2013 .
Total wealth of world's richest people stood at $3.7 trillion by end of year .
Biggest gains for technology bosses, whose wealth rose by 28 per cent .
Bill Gates's riches increased by $15.8 billion to $78.5 billion . |
faf0a62d08d08cbe6c47bc2ad44cc8f9656b12f2 | (CNN) -- Two people were killed and several others injured in a shooting at a barbershop in Detroit on Wednesday, said police spokeswoman Kelly Miner. It was not immediately clear whether there was one shooter or more, she said. An investigation is under way. Miner was not aware of any arrests. The shooting took place at a barber shop on the city's east side, she said. "What happened was somebody at the barber shop heard all this commotion, opened the door. And then shots were fired into the barber shop," Miner told CNN affiliate WXYZ. Eight people were wounded and were rushed to hospitals, the affiliate reported. CNN's Kevin Conlon contributed to this report. | New: CNN affiliate reports that 8 people were injured .
She is not aware of any arrests .
It was not immediately clear whether there was one shooter or more . |
faf137d8b4e698310d0c812c3763382eadd3b327 | (CNN) -- For most of Paul Ramirez's life, only those closest to him knew that he lived with a serious brain disorder. Ramirez, of Pasadena, California, found out he had epilepsy when he was 22. Now 50, he's had seven grand mal seizures, which make him lose consciousness. Still, he often went years without having a seizure at all. "I kept it private from extended members of my family. I never told my friends. I was ashamed of it," Ramirez said. That changed in June. Ramirez was waiting to see his neurologist after a recent seizure. The doctor would help determine whether Ramirez should continue driving. In the waiting room, Ramirez stumbled across a CNN.com story on his iPad. The story, published after U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson had a seizure while driving, explained how common seizures are and the reasons they can occur. It featured people living with epilepsy who talked about the impact the disorder had on their lives. Reading the piece marked a turning point in Ramirez's life. "It was the first time I had ever read a story that actually mirrored my own life," he said. "It was inspiring. It was encouraging. It gave me hope that there were others out there (like me)." Ramirez immediately sent an e-mail to Nathan Jones, who was featured in the story. By the time the doctor appointment was over, Jones had responded. Ramirez and Jones, project coordinator at the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles, soon became fast friends, sharing stories over coffee and lunch. A week later, Ramirez went to the foundation's office and met with the staff. He wrote an e-mail to his family and friends, telling them about his journey and his struggles with epilepsy. He also told them the Department of Motor Vehicles was looking into whether he should keep his license. He was overwhelmed with support. "I now feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders," he said. "I'm not afraid to come forward, to discuss it." Ramirez realized that he had an opportunity to share his story and to help others. He signed up to become a team captain for the foundation's Walk to End Epilepsy on October 28 at the Rose Bowl. Then he decided to do more. Last month, days before his 50th birthday, Ramirez climbed Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States, in one 15-hour hike. He dedicated that hike and his birthday to raising money for the walk. When he reached the summit, Ramirez put on a shirt with two simple words: End Epilepsy. "Standing on that mountain and being able to put on the End Epilepsy shirt meant more to me than any footstep I took getting up there," Ramirez said. "It meant a lot. And I'll do it again next year and the year after that." Susan Pietsch-Escueta, executive director of the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles, says more people with epilepsy need to come forward. She says that sharing stories and information is vital to helping people understand the world's most common serious brain disorder. "I think that's why it's so amazing to have people like Paul willing to speak up and be an example," she said. "I truly do believe we will never end epilepsy if people with epilepsy remain in the shadows and in hiding, in a sense." Ramirez takes precautions but says he is not going to let epilepsy manage his life. He's been cleared to drive; he's an expert skier and an avid mountain biker and swimmer. "He's not going to let anything hold him back," Jones said. "He's going to live his life like he wants to, and I really admire that." Ramirez says the CNN story came at the perfect time in his life. "I'm not embarrassed anymore. I just don't see it as a humiliating circumstance. It's just another part of life," he said. "I think everyone has something, and this is my something." Seizures: When an 'electrical brainstorm' hits . | Paul Ramirez found out he had epilepsy when he was 22 .
Ramirez hid the serious brain disorder from family, friends until he read a story on CNN .
Story inspired Ramirez to share his story and raise money for epilepsy research . |
faf13931fd6d4722a47f6f18bb5512e7e21ae581 | (CNN) -- The 2014 Screen Actors Guild Awards were handed out at Los Angeles' Shrine Exposition Center on January 18. Take a look at the full list of winners, marked here in bold. Motion Picture Nominees . Outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture . • "12 Years a Slave" • "American Hustle" -- WINNER . • "August: Osage County" • "Dallas Buyers Club" • "Lee Daniels' The Butler" Outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role . • Bruce Dern, "Nebraska" • Chiwetel Ejiofor, "12 Years a Slave" • Tom Hanks, "Captain Phillips" • Matthew McConaughey, "Dallas Buyers Club" -- WINNER . • Forest Whitaker, "Lee Daniels' The Butler" Outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role . • Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine" -- WINNER . • Sandra Bullock, "Gravity" • Judi Dench, "Philomena" • Meryl Streep, "August: Osage County" • Emma Thompson, "Saving Mr. Banks" Outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role . • Barkhad Abdi, "Captain Phillips" • Daniel Bruhl, "Rush" • Michael Fassbender, "12 Years a Slave" • James Gandolfini, "Enough Said" • Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyers Club" -- WINNER . Outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role . • Jennifer Lawrence, "American Hustle" • Lupita Nyong'o, "12 Years a Slave" -- WINNER . • Julia Roberts, "August: Osage County" • June Squibb, "Nebraska" • Oprah Winfrey, "Lee Daniels' The Butler" Television Nominees . Outstanding performance by a male actor in a television movie or miniseries . • Matt Damon, "Behind the Candelabra" • Michael Douglas, "Behind the Candelabra" -- WINNER . • Jeremy Irons, "The Hollow Crown" • Rob Lowe, "Killing Kennedy" • Al Pacino, "Phil Spector" Outstanding performance by a female actor in a television movie or miniseries . • Angela Bassett, "Betty & Coretta" • Helena Bonham Carter, "Burton and Taylor" • Holly Hunter, "Top of the Lake" • Helen Mirren, "Phil Spector" -- WINNER . • Elisabeth Moss, "Top of the Lake" Outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series . • Steve Buscemi, "Boardwalk Empire" • Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad" -- WINNER . • Jeff Daniels, "The Newsroom" • Peter Dinklage, "Game of Thrones" • Kevin Spacey, "House of Cards" Outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series . • Claire Danes, "Homeland" • Anna Gunn, "Breaking Bad" • Jessica Lange, "American Horror Story: Coven" • Maggie Smith, "Downton Abbey" -- WINNER . • Kerry Washington, "Scandal" Outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series . • Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock" • Jason Bateman, "Arrested Development" • Ty Burrell, "Modern Family" -- WINNER . • Don Cheadle, "House of Lies" • Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory" Outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series . • Mayim Bialik, "The Big Bang Theory" • Julie Bowen, "Modern Family" • Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie" • Tina Fey, "30 Rock" • Julia Louis-Dreyfus," Veep" -- WINNER . Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series . • "Boardwalk Empire" • "Breaking Bad" -- WINNER . • "Downton Abbey" • "Game of Thrones" • "Homeland" Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series . • "30 Rock" • "Arrested Development" • "The Big Bang Theory" • "Modern Family" -- WINNER . • "Veep" Stunt Ensembles . Outstanding action performance by a stunt ensemble in a motion picture . • "All is Lost" • "Fast & Furious 6" • "Lone Survivor" -- WINNER . • "Rush"" • "The Wolverine" Outstanding action performance by a stunt ensemble in a comedy or drama series . • "Boardwalk Empire" • "Breaking Bad" • "Game of Thrones" -- WINNER . • "Homeland" • "The Walking Dead" Life achievement award . Rita Moreno . 5 show-stealing moments . | The 2014 SAG Awards were handed out on January 18 .
"American Hustle" won outstanding performance by a movie cast .
"Modern Family" won best comedy ensemble .
"Breaking Bad" took home the award for best drama ensemble . |
faf172abd8a66c04c06c74d074cfd88a015376c5 | The family of a postal worker named as being a mole working with the Great Train Robbers has dismissed the claims - insisting he never flashed the cash. Gordon Goody, 85, a surviving member of the gang, has named Patrick McKenna as the inside man in a new documentary. He broke his 51-year silence to reveal the identity of the man previously known only as The Ulsterman. The family of Patrick McKenna (pictured) have dismissed claims he was a mole working with the Great Train Robbers insisting he never flashed the cash . Gordon Goody (pictured), 85, has named Patrick McKenna as the inside man in a new documentary . But the family of Mr McKenna, a quiet Post Office employee who died with just £3,000 in his bank account, say they find it hard to believe he was the middleman. 'He was very straitlaced and honest,' his grandson, Mark McKenna, said. 'When I was young I remember going shopping with him at Asda. Me and my mum lived with my grandparents, so he was like my dad. Mark McKenna, pictured, has described his grandfather as 'strait-laced and honest' 'He was one of those who would sit there at the end of the month comparing his till receipts to his bank statement.' The 41-year-old, of Eccles, Salford, added: 'When mum was younger they struggled with money. 'She was walking around with holes in her shoes. 'Every time he bought a car it had to be on hire purchase. 'It's obviously quite a shock that he could have been involved in something like this. 'My reaction was, "What, my grandad?" My mum doesn't believe it at all.' Mr McKenna says that by 1963, his grandfather had left London for the north west to live near his wife's family. He says his grandfather, who died of a heart attack in 1992, never showed any sign of having a large amount of cash that would indicate he had been involved in a heist. 'If he did get this kind of money, none of us ever saw any of it,' he said. 'I am still finding it all very hard to believe because of the kind of person that he was. 'The documentary makers insist it can't be anyone else, however.' Police examining one of the coaches of the train near Bridego Railway Bridge in Buckinghamshire the morning after the train was robbed . Three handcuffed men arrested in connection with the great train robbery have blankets draped over their heads as they leave Linslade Court where they were remanded in custody for eight days . Goody's account is that McKenna picked up his share - the equivalent of several million pounds today - in two holdalls and a mailbag and piled them into the boot of a grey Austin car. Goody has revealed all for a new film made in the wake of the deaths last year of other Great Train Robbers, including Ronnie Biggs. The Great British Train Robbery: A Tale of Two Thieves is in cinemas on Friday and on DVD, Blu-ray and download from October 6. Bruce Reynolds . Gang-leader and mastermind Reynolds was nicknamed 'Napoleon' and after the Great Train Robbery he fled to Mexico on a false passport and was joined by his wife, Angela, and son, Nick. They later moved on to Canada but the cash from the robbery ran out and he came back to England. Five years after the heist, in 1968, a broke Reynolds was captured in Torquay and sentenced to 25 years in jail. He was released on parole in 1978 and moved, alone and penniless, into a tiny flat off London's Edgware Road. In the 1980s he was jailed for three years for dealing amphetamines. After his second release, Reynolds went on to work briefly as a consultant on a film about the robbery, Buster, and published the Autobiography of a Thief in 1995. His son Nick said his father died in his sleep in the early hours of February 28 2013. Great Train Robbers all together at the launch of a book. (L-R) Buster Edwards, Tommy Wisbey, Jim White, Bruce Reynolds, Roger Cordrey, Charles Wilson and Jim Hussey . Ronnie Biggs . Ronald Arthur 'Ronnie' Biggs played a minor role in the robbery, but his life as a fugitive after escaping from prison gained him notoriety. He was given a 30-year sentence in 1964, but he escaped after 15 months by fleeing over the walls of London's Wandsworth prison in April 1965. After having plastic surgery, he lived as a fugitive for 36 years in first Australia then Brazil, where he fathered a son Michael. His health deteriorated in 2001 and he returned to the UK voluntarily where he was sent back to prison. He was finally freed in 2009 on 'compassionate grounds' by then Justice Secretary Jack Straw who said he was not expected to recover. Ronald 'Buster' Edwards . An ex-boxer, club owner and small-time crook who fled to Mexico after the heist but gave himself up in 1966. Edwards is widely believed to be the man who wielded the cosh used to hit train driver Jack Mills over the head. Mills' family say he never recovered, and he died seven years later. Edwards served nine years in jail and then became a familiar figure selling flowers outside Waterloo station in London. He was the subject of the 1988 film Buster, in which he was played by Phil Collins.Edwards was found hanged in a garage in 1994 at the age of 62. Two wreaths in the shape of trains accompanied his funeral cortège. Charlie Wilson . Wilson was the gang's 'treasurer' who gave each of the robbers their cut of the haul.He was captured quickly and during his trial at Aylesbury Crown Court in 1964 earned the nickname 'the silent man' as he refused to say anything. He was jailed for 30 years but escaped after just four months. He was captured again in Canada after four years on the run and served 10 more years in jail. He was the final train robber to emerge from prison in 1978. Wilson moved to Marbella, Spain, where he was shot and killed by a hitman on a bicycle in 1990. Interior shot of the Glasgow to London Royal Mail train which was carrying more than £2.6million in cash . Roy James . A silversmith and racing driver, James dreamed of investing his share of the loot in new car technology. He was nicknamed 'Weasel' and was the chief getaway driver. James left a tell-tale fingerprint at the gang's farm hideout after the heist and was caught following a chase over rooftops in London. Jailed for 30 years, he served 12 and later sold silver from a market stall before moving to Spain. James was jailed again for six years in 1993 after shooting his wife's father and hitting her with a pistol. He died at the age of 62, soon after getting out of prison. Brian Field . A crooked solicitor who the gang used for the conveyancing when they bought the farm hideout used after the heist. Field was arrested and sentenced to 25 years, which was later reduced to five. He died in a motorway crash in 1979. Bill Boal . Police seize bags of cash following the heist . An engineer who was arrested with Roger Cordrey in possession of £141,000.Reynolds said he had never heard of Boal. He claimed Boal was not involved in the robbery and was "an innocent man". Boal was charged with receiving stolen goods and jailed for 24 years, which was reduced to 14 on appeal. He died of cancer in jail in 1970. Tommy Wisbey . A bookie and self-confessed 'heavy' whose job in the heist was to frighten the train staff. Wisbey was sentenced to 30 years and released in 1976. He was jailed for another 10 years in 1989 for cocaine dealing and later ran a flower stall. On release from prison he went to live in north London and suffered several strokes. Bobby Welch . A nightclub owner who was sentenced to 30 years in jail and was released in 1976. He was later left crippled after an operation on his leg went wrong. After jail he became a car dealer and gambler in London. He attended Bruce Reynolds' funeral earlier this year. Gordon Goody . He was jailed for 30 years and released in 1975. Goody moved to Spain to run a bar. James Hussey . A decorator known as 'Big Jim' who was sentenced to 30 years and released in 1975. Hussey later worked on a market stall and then opened a Soho restaurant. He notched up a conviction for assault in 1981 and in 1989 was jailed for seven years for a drug smuggling conspiracy with fellow train robber Wisbey. He died in November 2012, aged 79, from cancer. Leatherslade Farm Oakley, the gang's hideout - the group consisted of 17 full members who were to receive an equal share, including 15 people who were at the actual robbery and two key informants . Roger Cordrey . Part of the South Coast Raiders gang, Cordrey was a florist. He was arrested in Bournemouth after having the bad luck to rent a lock-up from a policeman's widow. He was jailed for 20 years, which was reduced to 14 on appeal. When he was released in 1971 he went back to the flower business and moved to the West Country. He has since died. Jimmy White . A former Paratrooper described as 'quartermaster' for the robbery. White was on the run for three years before being caught in Kent and sentenced to 18 years. He was released in 1975 and went to live in Sussex. He has since died. Leonard Field . A former merchant seaman, Field was sentenced to 25 years, which was later reduced to five. He was released from jail in 1967 and went to live in north London. Believed to be dead. John Wheater . A solicitor who was sentenced to three years for conspiring to pervert the course of justice. He was released in 1966 and went to live in Surrey. Believed to be dead. | A surviving member of Great Train Robbery gang, Gordon Goody, named Patrick McKenna as inside man in heist .
But Mr McKenna's family dismiss claim saying he never flashed the cash .
The Post Office employee died with just £3,000 to his name, his grandson Mark claims .
Family describes him as 'straitlaced and honest' and say he never showed signs of having large amounts of money . |
faf176ad83f1526de787a505ba1d53837ad30269 | (CNN) -- Days after a deadly Metro-North train derailment in New York, a top federal transportation official said Tuesday that he has "serious concerns" about safety on the railroad. In addition to Sunday's derailment in the Bronx, which killed four people and injured dozens more, Federal Railroad Administration chief Joseph Szabo listed three other recent accidents involving Metro-North trains. "The specific causes of each of these accidents may vary, but regardless of the reasons, four serious accidents in less than seven months is simply unacceptable," he wrote in a letter to the head of New York's transit authority. The letter also describes a May 17 train derailment and collision in Bridgeport, Connecticut; the death of a Metro-North employee on May 28 in West Haven, Connecticut; and a CSX freight train derailment in the Bronx on July 18. More needs to be done immediately to improve safety, Szabo said. He directed New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority to immediately implement a so-called C3RS program, which allows railroad employees to report close calls "to identify significant precursors to significant safety issues." "A C3RS is in place on other rail lines across the country ... and has proven effective in identifying safety issues and lowering injury and accident exposure," he wrote. And that's not all, he said. "We have significant concerns about the current situation at Metro-North, and are actively considering other ways that FRA can use its federal oversight authority to provide additional safety enhancement of MTA operations," he wrote. The MTA said it is fully cooperating with the investigation and is conducting a comprehensive look at the safety culture of the authority. "The safety of the MTA's customers and employees has always been, and will always continue to be, our top priority. We look forward to working with the Federal Railroad Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation to improve safety," MTA spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said. "We have been moving forward on a confidential close call reporting system, and we look forward to working with the FRA to implement it." Combined, the four accidents "resulted in 5 deaths and approximately 129 injuries to Metro-North employees and customers," Szabo said. The July freight train derailment, which damaged tracks and tipped over containers carrying tons of trash, occurred near the area in the Bronx where seven passenger cars derailed on Sunday, CNN affiliate WABC reported. The May collision between two Metro-North passenger trains in Bridgeport sent dozens of people to the hospital after a train heading from New Haven to New York City derailed during rush hour and smashed into a train heading in the opposite direction. Less than 10 days later, a train hit and killed a Metro-North employee who was doing maintenance work on tracks in the vicinity of the construction of a new station in West Haven, CNN affiliate WFSB reported. CNN's Leigh Remizowski contributed to this report. | NEW: New York's MTA says it's cooperating with investigators .
The country's top rail official says he has "serious concerns" about Metro-North safety .
"Four serious accidents in less than seven months is simply unacceptable," he says .
He calls on the MTA to do more immediately to improve safety . |
faf18c3ef62a4d124149971a96e74ff2cfc85478 | By . Talal Musa . PUBLISHED: . 13:02 EST, 29 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 15:00 EST, 6 December 2012 . Rating: . Price: From £39.99 / $69.00 (RRP) In ZombiU, it's not about if you die, but when. Against the odds and hounded by hordes of the undead, you're thrown into a zombie-infested London, and must do anything you can to escape in one piece. Along the way you're helped by a man called the Prepper, who sends you on various skirmishes from hacking CCTV cameras to retrieving essential survival kit. Running rampant: Some of London's most iconic landmarks have been infested by the undead . Thankfully, this rather unoriginal plot is made all the more unique by its masterful execution.Once your character is killed, for example, they are no longer playable and you take control of another survivor. Locked up in a safe room, you then have to run back to the spot and finish off your former character (who is now a zombie) to retrieve all your gear. The mechanic works brilliantly. You're responsible for a life, rather than just a generic bot. While the lack of dialogue is perhaps a missed opportunity in a game of this nature, you still become incredibly attached to your character. There's a sense of complete isolation and vulnerability throughout. Whether that's walking through the ghostly corridors of a once thriving school, or curling up in your safe house's bed as the cries of the undead echo through the tunnels. It's a shame, then, that there's not as much freedom in the level design as there should be. They often involve walking through samey, claustrophobic corridors while the more open areas have clear boundaries - defined by a vehicle pile-up or a fence. Watch your step: Often, the Underground provides a safe haven. But getting there is another problem . That being said, there are still plenty of areas to unlock and explore, so you can get a sense of your surroundings and find quick exit points to safe areas. The zombies themselves are wonderfully realised, too. They pose no threat by themselves, but in a pack, they're deadly - placing a huge emphasis on tactics. Often running in all guns blazing results in a quick, and brutal death. But throwing a flare, instead, can create a brief distraction, long enough to run past a horde unscathed. It's these kind of decisions that make ZombiU such a tense experience, made more so by the intuitive controls. The WiiU GamePad has a number of functions, serving as a backpack, map and scanner. At any time during the game you can access your backpack and equip supplies you've amassed from your travels. Gruesome: The Wii U is capable of brilliant detail. Zombies rarely look the same and boast hauntingly realistic tissue damage. They are also drawn to sound and light, so you may want to keep your pistol holstered . When you use it, you're forced to take your eyes away from the main screen (which shifts into a third-person perspective) - leaving you vulnerable to attacks. This instills a sense of urgency which is lacking in many horror games - often choosing to pause the action and provide a brief safe haven. To use the scanner, simply go into a room and tag items of interest. These then appear on the map. There's even a button that lets out a brief pulse, showing you where there are moving objects - reminiscent of the motion tracker in the Aliens films. This is crucial given the fact that enemies are randomly placed. You'll never go into an area and find zombies lurking in exactly the same areas. Combat is hauntingly realistic. Ammo is sparse, so missing the target has serious consequences. But most of the time, you'll stick with melee weapons, such as the baseball bat. Too close for comfort: On their own, zombies are easy to kill (again). In a pack, though, it's a different story . Although suffering from minor (and expected) launch title hiccups, such as clipping and bland textures, ZombiU is a remarkable artistic achievement. Amidst the death are cues of the living world that existed before it. Venture through apartments and you'll see photos, newspapers - intricate details that hammer home the situation, and adding a further emotive incentive to escape alive. But this is adventure you won't want to leave behind, and one that deserves its place among the best horror games ever made. Follow Talal on Twitter: @TalalMusa and on Facebook: Daily Mail Games. | Tense, terrific and wonderful use of the GamePad .
Realistic portrayal of zombie-infested London, backed up with solid narrative .
'Clever' zombies react to your behaviour, placing huge emphasis on tactics .
Some clipping and texture issues . |
faf199b6ec3bcf1cdef73d87f4b9038028d12635 | The city of Phoenix is facing a possible lawsuit after telling a woman she couldn't pass out free bottled water to people in Arizona's 112-degree heat. Dana Crow-Smith said she and a religious group were offering the water at a downtown festival in July as a kind gesture and to offer conversation on their Christian faith when told they were violating a city code. 'It was really hot and yeah we wanted to show God's love and a small act of kindness is a great way to do that without shoving it down someone's throat,' she told ABC 15. Scroll down for video . Helping out: Dana Crow-Smith said she was offering free bottled water at a festival in Phoenix, Arizona as both a kind gesture and way to offer conversation on Christianity . A city worker told her she was operating without having a permit for the water's distribution she claims and told her she would need to stop immediately. Non-profit civil liberties organization The Rutherford Institute has since offered to represent Ms Crow-Smith against the city. They claim her First Amendment rights were violated and her claimed need of a permit was unjustified under the city's code itself. 'In fact, the Phoenix's City Code prohibits only "vending" on City sidewalks without a license agreement,’ the institute wrote in a letter to the city earlier this month. Violation: Ms Crow-Smith was passing out bottles like this one shown when told the gesture was in violation of a city code with her not having a permit . 'Having read a Bible passage referencing . the importance of small acts of kindness such as offering water to the . thirsty, Ms Crow-Smith was further moved to offer cold bottles of water . to people at the Festival who were braving the desert's scorching . 112-degree heat,' the institute wrote. 'I don't even think it's about religious . beliefs, I think anybody should be able to give away water, on the side . walk to anybody. It's hot, and it's a nice thing to do,' Ms Crow-Smith . said. The Rutherford Institute has since notified the city that they will file a lawsuit unless an apology is issued, they agree to train city workers on First Amendment rights and assure to never interfere with her distribution of water again. 'It is beyond comprehension that local government officials would interfere with citizens performing such a basic act of charity as giving water to the thirty in your city,' the institute wrote. Watch the video here: . | Dana Crow-Smith was offering conversation on Christianity when told she had to stop .
Woman told the gesture was in violation of a city code without having a permit . |
faf1effbc6adcf771342c913e4315bf974b3b51c | Bellefonte, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- Five men and four women have been selected to be jurors in the Pennsylvania trial of Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach charged with child rape. About 220 potential jurors reported for duty Tuesday, after the court whittled the number to about 600 based on answers to questionnaires sent to prospective jurors' homes. Of those, about half were sent home and asked to return Wednesday. "We are now making good progress," Judge John Cleland said late Tuesday afternoon. Twelve jurors and four alternates will eventually be selected. Sandusky, 68, has been under house arrest since being charged with sexually abusing 10 boys for at least 15 years. Prosecutors allege he met some of his accusers through Second Mile, a charity he created for underprivileged children. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He and his attorney, Joe Amendola, were in attendance Tuesday. Keys to the case against Sandusky . Opening statements are expected to begin Monday, the judge said, and the trial is likely to last about three weeks. Sandusky supposedly wrote love letters to one of his alleged victims, Victim 4, ABC News reported late Tuesday. They will be read into testimony, ABC said. When asked by CNN about the report, the attorney for Victim 4, Ben Andreozzi, said he expects that letters from Sandusky to his client will be introduced at trial, but declined to comment on their content. Gifts Sandusky allegedly gave to Victim 4 may also be introduced as evidence by prosecutors, according to a source close to the case. Those gifts could include golf clubs and football jerseys, the source said. A source close to another alleged victim, Victim 1, said Victim 1 received birthday cards and notes from Sandusky, but that they were not sexually explicit in nature. They included statements such as, "I love you," but did not contain anything overtly sexual, that source said. Authorities allege that Sandusky abused some of the boys on the Penn State campus. The case has shaken the university, raised questions about its response to the allegations and drawn criticism from those who claim Penn State put its reputation ahead of protecting potential child victims. University President Graham Spanier and iconic head football coach Joe Paterno lost their jobs soon after Sandusky's arrest amid criticism that they did not adequately handle the matter when allegations involving Sandusky arose years earlier. Paterno died of complications from lung cancer in January. Mike McQueary, a former graduate student considered to be a key witness in the Sandusky case, has testified that he alerted Paterno in 2002 that he'd seen what appeared to be Sandusky sexually assaulting a boy in a shower in Penn State's athletic facilities, an allegation that authorities didn't learn of until years later. Paterno apparently told the university's athletic director, Tim Curley, but no one notified police. Curley and Gary Schultz, Penn State's senior vice president for finance and business, are now facing felony charges of perjury and failing to report the allegations to authorities. Prosecutors said later that the McQueary incident took place about a year earlier than was originally alleged, causing defense attorneys for Curley and Schultz to argue that one of the charges should now be dropped. Both of them have pleaded not guilty, and their attorneys have said that prosecutors "charged this case before (they) knew the facts." Potential jurors were asked Tuesday about their relationships with Penn State, local law enforcement and Second Mile, and whether they had contributed to any of those entities. Several reported knowing Sandusky or his wife, while others said they had volunteered at Second Mile. Others said they were current or former Penn State employees. Prosecutors plan to call more than 50 witnesses during the trial, and the defense plans to call about 100, including Jay and Sue Paterno, Joe Paterno's son and widow; McQueary; his father, John; and Spanier, among others. The prosecution is preparing witnesses for their testimony next week, according to several sources close to the case. The 28-year-old man known as Victim 4 is expected to testify first, with Victim 1, who started the investigation by coming forward in 2008 and alleging years of abuse, to follow, the sources said. McQueary and his father were told to be in town and ready to testify next Wednesday or Thursday, one of the sources said. Cleland told members of the jury pool that jurors in the case will not be sequestered, saying he will trust them not to read newspapers or follow the case online. He told the prospective jurors that after he speaks with them, groups will be taken to another room for questioning and then to a different room for more questioning from the judge and attorneys. If they are selected, he said, they will be taken to a different room. "We're using all the rooms," Cleland quipped as pool members chuckled. Sandusky listened intently to the judge as he spoke to the jury pool, also chuckling at times. But he looked down when the judge discussed the charges against him. As jury selection in the case began Tuesday, Penn State released a statement, saying, "The acts that Jerry Sandusky is accused of committing are horrible and if proven true, deserve punishment." The university said it would not comment on the specifics of the legal case, but said it hopes that the trial "provides answers we are all seeking" and that "the legal process will start to bring closure to the alleged victims and families whose lives have been irrevocably impacted and that they can begin the healing process." Several of Sandusky's alleged victims, including Victim 4, asked a judge to protect their identities at trial. However, Cleland ruled Monday that the alleged victims' identities may not be concealed during the trial, although they will be protected through the jury selection process. "Courts are not customarily in the business of withholding information," Cleland's ruling said. "Secrecy is thought to be inconsistent with the openness required to assure the public that the law is being administered fairly and applied faithfully." Prosecutors in Sandusky case present new, graphic details . But, the judge noted, "It is also to be hoped that various news organizations that will report on the trial will use what has become their professional custom to protect the privacy of alleged victims." CNN generally does not identify alleged victims of sexual assault. Victim advocacy groups criticized the judge's decision late Monday, expressing their hope that it would not have a chilling effect on the reporting of child sexual abuse. "The judge placed a significant burden on this class of victims by stating that they have 'a duty to the community to testify' about the crime, but denying them privacy protections in exchange for that testimony. By bravely coming forward, victims serve in the interest of public safety; they should be assured that their privacy will be protected," the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, the National Center for Victims of Crime and the National Crime Victim Law Institute said in a joint statement. "In society, sometimes we question why rape victims are reluctant to come forward," Andreozzi, attorney for Victim 4, said Monday after the ruling. "So now we have our answer. ... We are disappointed." "We are not asking to close the courtroom, only to use a pseudonym," he said. His client will still testify, he said, "but at what expense to his emotional well-being?" He said he expects the defense to attack his client on the basis of a meeting he had with Sandusky in the years after the alleged abuse. "My client couldn't break free," said the attorney, describing the relationship between Victim 4 and Sandusky as "complex." Psychologist flagged Sandusky as 'likely pedophile' in 1998 report . After news of the scandal broke last year, The New York Times published an extensive interview in which Sandusky attempted to clarify his relationships with young people. "If I say, 'No, I'm not attracted to young boys,' that's not the truth," he said, according to the story. "Because I'm attracted to young people -- boys, girls -- I ..." His lawyer, who was present at the interview, spoke up at that point to note that Sandusky is "not sexually" attracted to them. "Right. I enjoy -- that's what I was trying to say -- I enjoy spending time with young people. I enjoy spending time with people," Sandusky continued. "I mean, my two favorite groups are the elderly and the young." CNN's Susan Candiotti, Ross Levitt, Jason Carroll and CNN contributor Sara Ganim contributed to this report. | The jury includes five men and four women .
More than 150 witnesses are expected at the trial .
Sandusky, 68, faces charges of child rape .
Prosecutors allege that he abused 10 boys for more than 15 years . |
faf275f9090768a240d7855f63a05dd8e6ed3f16 | Chicago (CNN) -- Maggie Daley, the wife of a former Chicago mayor, died Thursday night after battling breast cancer. She was 68. Daley died about 6 p.m. at home "surrounded by family, including her husband, former Mayor Richard Daley, and her children, Nora, Patrick and Elizabeth," said Jacquelyn Heard, Daley's former spokeswoman and a family friend. "The mayor and his family would like to thank the people of Chicago for the many kindnesses they've shown Mrs. Daley over the years, and they appreciate your prayers during this time," Heard said. She died from complications from breast cancer, Heard said. Her husband was first elected mayor in 1989 to complete the term of the late Harold Washington. He was re-elected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007. He was succeeded by Rahm Emanuel. Emanuel said Daley started a successful after-school arts program in 1991. "We are grateful to Maggie for lending her shining spirit to Chicago in so many ways. She inspired all of us with her commitment to children and the arts," Emanuel said. "Every person in this city, one way or another, has been touched by her vision and determination." President Barack Obama described her as "an extraordinary woman who dedicated her life to public service," including programs to benefit Chicago youth. "While she will be sorely missed, her initiatives on behalf of Chicago's youth live on as national models for how to create environments for children to learn and grow outside the classroom," Obama said in a statement. "Maggie's commitment to the children and people of Chicago was surpassed only by her devotion to her family." CNN's Marlena Baldacci and Greg Morrison contributed to this report. | Daley dies at home surrounded by her family .
She had been battling breast cancer, a family spokeswoman says .
President Barack Obama says she dedicated her life to public service . |
faf2cfe05029d864c9e799971fbb682c1a3f7d6b | (CNN) -- Southwest Airlines is working with federal and local officials to determine who is responsible for vandalizing its planes with strange markings, a statement from the airline said Tuesday. The unauthorized markings surfaced in February, spokesperson Whitney Eichinger said in the statement. Eichinger would not comment on the number of planes vandalized, where the incidents were reported or give specific details about what the markings were. CNN affiliate KNXV in Phoenix reported that multiple sources, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak on behalf of the company, have said "the markings appear to be Arabic words." But those same sources said they believe the markings are the work of "an employee or group of employees joking around," KNXV reported. Southwest had planned to handle the situation as "an internal vandalism issue," a memo from Mike Van de Ven stated, but a company employee called in a tip to ABC15, after information about the investigation was posted in a memo on the company's internal blog. "We are asking your help to stop this and to report those responsible," the memo from Mike Van de Ven read. "If you are aware of anyone involved in marking or tagging our aircraft, please notify our Leader, " the memo states. It also said "the issue is taken very seriously," and that the company plans "to work in cooperation with both local and federal law enforcement agencies until the issue is resolved." | Employees received an internal memo about markings on planes .
Southwest is working with local, federal officials to find vandals .
Sources tell local media, 'the markings appear to be Arabic words" |
faf2fa5e42912cf8e791fb0b3f2075210923ed53 | Jerusalem (CNN) -- In a move likely to further strain relations between the United States and Israel, the municipality of Jerusalem has given final approval for a controversial Israeli housing project in the heart of a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem. Approval of the project paves the way for construction of 20 apartments being developed by American millionaire Irving Moskowitz on land that he purchased in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. Moskowitz, an avid supporter of Jewish building in East Jerusalem, purchased the land in 1985. To make way for the new housing units the historic Shepherd Hotel which was built in the 1930s by a prominent Palestinian family would be torn down. The Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem has become an area highly coveted by Jewish nationalists wishing to cement Jewish claims to the land, and it has become a fault line in the public debate about Israeli building in Arab areas of East Jerusalem. Every week hundreds of Palestinians, Israelis, and international activists stage protests in the neighborhood to protest Israeli government building policies. East Jerusalem was captured from Jordan in the 1967 war between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Israel claims sovereignty over all of Jerusalem, though this it is a claim not recognized by the international community. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capitol of their future state. In a terse statement Wednesday, the Jerusalem Municipality argued the East Jerusalem construction was actually approved in July 2009 and that the owners of the land merely paid a necessary fee last week which generated an automatic approval for the project to proceed. "This is distorted media information in order to create a provocation during the Prime Minister's visit to the United States" read the statement. The building plan, which was given municipal approval last summer, was met with great disapproval from the United States which demanded that it be stopped. It was a demand, then as now, that fell on deaf ears. At the time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet, "Our sovereignty over [Jerusalem] cannot be challenged. This means that residents of Jerusalem may purchase apartments in all parts of the city. We cannot accept the idea that Jews will not have the right to live and purchase in all parts of Jerusalem." Netanyahu echoed the same arguments in defense of the Israeli announcement two weeks ago to build 1,600 units of housing in a different East Jerusalem neighborhood. That announcement, made while U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden was visiting Israel, set off a diplomatic rift between the United States and Israel that both sides are still attempting to iron out. U.S. President Barack Obama and Netanyahu met Wednesday evening in Washington to discuss Israel's plans for new housing units in East Jerusalem. The leaders did not appear before cameras, and there was no sign of an end to the dispute. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, called the approval "an intentional insult to the U.S. administration" and works against "any serious indirect or direct negotiations" between Israel and the Palestinians. Rudeineh said the Obama administration "should put enough pressure on Israel to implement what has been written and issued by the Quartet in Moscow several days ago." On Friday, the Middle East Quartet, the United States, European Union, the United Nations, and Russia, called on both sides "to refrain from proactive actions" and for Israel to freeze all settlement activity in an effort to promote peace talks. | Controversial Israeli housing project approved in Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem .
Move likely to further strain relations between United States and Israel .
Obama and Netanyahu met Wednesday in Washington to discuss Israel's housing plans .
U.S.-Israeli relations hit rough patch after row over future building in East Jerusalem . |
faf354c5426c43fd0709b0b13564a8ccecbc45b5 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . A Michigan school teacher who took a video showing an autistic student with his head stuck in a classroom chair is to keep her job, but will be suspended for a year without pay. Nicole McVey reached for her cell phone . when the 11-year-old boy, who has Asperger's syndrome, became caught . through a chair at Oaktree Elementary School in Goodrich. The video was recorded last November and was released to a TV station in February. In it, the boy is shown with his head and arms stuck in an opening in the back of the chair. Scroll down for video... Distressed: A video recorded by a teacher shows a student with Asperger's syndrome mocking a boy, 11, who had become stuck in a chair while the head teacher chimes in. They then sent the video to other staff . A lawyer for the parents of the boy says they feel compelled to bring a lawsuit in the case. Patrick Greenfelder said Friday his clients 'have no recourse' but to sue now that the Goodrich school district has decided not to follow through on its initial plan to fire the fifth-grade student's teacher. The Goodrich Area Schools board voted 6-0 in a closed session on Thursday evening to withdraw its efforts to fire Nicole McVey and instead is suspending her for a year. Greenfelder says McVey taunted the boy, who has Asperger's syndrome. Ellis has since resigned, but McVey had been fighting the district's efforts to fire her. The video shows the boy, who has Asperger’s syndrome, with his chest resting on the chair’s seat and his head and arms stuck through an opening in the back. The voices of a woman and a man can be heard on the recording. Those belong to McVey and Oaktree Elementary School’s then-Principal Michael Ellis, said Greenfelder, who accused them of taunting his clients’ son. On the video, McVey can be heard questioning the boy in the video . about how he got stuck before asking: 'Do you want to get Tasered?' The . boy is told that a maintenance crew is on the way to help and . Greenfelder has said Ellis is heard saying it's really 'not an emergency . in their book'. Hearing: The school board had voted to seek to fire McVey in February but she now just be suspended for a year without pay . McVey apologized to the boy's parents in a letter writing 'there are no excuses or reasons or explanations for what happened'. In it, McVey, who has not spoken publicly since she was placed on leave following the incident that took place the week before Thanksgiving, writes that she has 'learned the severity' of her mistake. 'I have thought about November 22 every single day for the last 5 months and wish I could change every part of it,' she wrote. 'I . made a significant mistake,' her letter goes on to say. 'You need to . know that throughout this time my heart and my gut have told me that I . was wrong.' The fifth grade teacher writes she’s 'truly sorry” for making a “very bad series of choices.' McVey has spent 14 years in the district, which is about 40 miles northwest of Detroit. 'While . words will never be able to take away what happened, they provide the . only means that I have to request your forgiveness for betraying your . trusts in me, and to let you know that I am truly sorry,' her letter . says. 'I hope that you know I am not a bad person, but one who made a very bad series of choices on that day.' Support: Many parents at the board meeting in February said they thought McVey was a great teacher . Greenfelder said in February that the boy suffered broken blood vessels in his eyes while trying to escape from the chair. The . video came to light after a staff member responsible for reporting . bullying got ahold of it and informed administrators, said Greenfelder. After administrators saw the video, the Goodrich School Board voted to accept Ellis's resignation and seek to fire McVey by filing tenure charges. But the decision has upset some in the Goodrich school community, and numerous parents attended a board meeting with signs in support of McVey. 'I know she is supported by the community, the other teachers, the staff, I have learned a lot from her and I support her fully,' said Leanne Ruediger, a substitute teacher whose children attend the school. 'I believe that Nicole's intentions and motivations are always in the right place.' The footage caused an uproar when it was released to a TV station in February. But close to 200 pages of district e-mail correspondence indicate the three months between the video’s creation and its public airing were tumultuous as well. The e-mails show that Superintendent Scott Bogner quickly placed Ellis and McVey on leave and set about investigating. By January, Ellis had resigned and Bogner proposed that tenure charges be brought against McVey, a recommendation the school board approved. Bogner, meanwhile, delicately responded to e-mails from parents and students concerned about McVey’s absence. On December 9th, Bogner told a student who wanted McVey back that he was 'sorry that you guys have to be in the middle of this adult stuff.' Three days later, Bogner replied to a parent that some of the frustration “everyone is feeling” is 'being fueled by gossip, rumors and drama.' Scene: McVey has been suspended from Oaktree Elementary School in Goodrich, Michigan since February and will be now undergo a period of retraining before being allowed back into the classroom sometime in 2015 . Another parent added: 'There's no way that Mrs McVey ever bullied any child in that class.' They added that the word 'Taser' does not refer to a stun gun in the classroom context, but when you take two fingers and use them in a tickling motion on someone's side. The parents of the boy said they were upset by the support she had received and said they did not like the use of the word Taser. 'Our son did nothing wrong, but yet this seems to be another case of blaming the victim,' they added. The board voted 6-0 on Thursday to suspend McVey for a year without pay or benefits. She also agreed to attend remedial training focused on classroom relationships and the handling of student information. That change infuriated the student’s parents. While the district may have hoped that the apology letter would satisfy the parents, it was the opposite, Greenfelder said. 'Through all of this mess, the clients had been fully supportive of the superintendent and the school board on this difficult decision,' he said. 'Now, for whatever reason, they have reneged on the promise. ... A lawsuit appears to be their only recourse.' As for the boy, Greenfelder said he is “doing much better” under the guidance of the replacements for Ellis and McVey. | Nicole McVey filmed boy on cell phone when he got stuck in classroom .
She and Principal taunted fifth-grader, who has Asperger's syndrome .
Ellis has resigned, but McVey had been fighting efforts to sack her .
She apologized to boy's parents saying: 'I made a significant mistake'
McVey will be suspended for one year without pay and undergo retraining .
Parents are now threatening to sue the teacher and the school . |
faf3aac2b5ab55b1eb41c7fb6c5776295e16a607 | By . Ap Reporter . A group of art collectors filed a lawsuit against the Keith Haring foundation on Friday, claiming it has cost them at least $40 million by publicly labeling about 90 paintings by the late artist as 'counterfeit' and 'fake' as it refuses to fully evaluate them. The lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan portrayed the Keith Haring Foundation Inc.'s approach to authentication as irrational and irresponsible, saying its authentication committee operated for many years 'in secret, with little or no explanation, and often without ever physically inspecting the works'. It said the foundation Haring started shortly before he died of AIDS in 1990 disbanded the committee in 2012 to shield itself from litigation over its decisions but continued to obstruct the emergence of new Haring works through 'malicious and wrongful tactics', including shutting down the display of Haring art at a Miami show in March. The work of Keith Haring is among the most iconic of the twentieth century. His catoonish paintings focused on 1980's New York street culture and often featured social messages . Keith Harding died of AIDS in 1990. He was 31. His art is worth between $500,000 to $1 million a piece . Several collectors filed a $40 million defamation lawsuit on Friday against the foundation of late New York City painter Keith Haring, which has publicly stated roughly 80 works owned by the dealers are fakes . The foundation last year sued organizers of the 'Haring Miami' show, saying it was intended to defraud the public by exhibiting 200 purported works of art by Haring that were mostly fakes. The foundation said the paintings, mostly acrylic on canvas, would be worth about $40 million if they were authentic. 'Putting all these cheap Haring fakes into the market will depress the market and irreparably destroy the value of the authentic art and the reputation of the artist and the artwork,' foundation lawyers wrote. In legal papers, they said a foundation director who visited the Miami show was 'shocked at the blatant fraud involved' and saw only about eight authentic Haring works there. Attorneys for the Haring foundation did not immediately comment on the New York lawsuit. Visitors walk past an untitled art creation by Keith Haring during an exhibition retrospective in Paris in 2013 . Haring, whose work focused on New York City's 1980s street culture, often with political or social messages, died in 1990. Authenticated works by the artist can fetch between $500,000 and $1 million each . Keith Haring pictured here in 1985 . Nine art collectors maintained in their lawsuit Friday that the foundation was motivated to restrict the discovery of new Haring art in part to boost the value of paintings already on the market, including some pieces that the foundation itself sold between 2008 and 2011 for $4.6 million, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit said a certificate of authenticity greatly increases the value of a piece of art, making it available for sale through major auction houses as well as through private buyers. The lawsuit was brought by collectors who it said began buying works in 2007 from two of Haring's friends. One of them was Haring's former lover, a DJ who was introduced to Haring in 1982 and says the prolific artist gave him numerous pieces in the 1980s. The others were obtained from a graffiti artist, Delta Cortez. Keith Haring's artwork is among the most recognizable of the 20th century -- but the authenticity of roughly 90 paintings has been called into question . Pictures of the artwork, attached to the lawsuit as an exhibit, had titles such as 'Blue Baby', 'Baseball Mitt', 'Angel Winged TV' and 'Green Man Holding Red Baby' and were in Haring's cartoonish sketching style. Because many buyers wanted paperwork certifying the art as authentic, Cortez sometime after 1999 contacted the foundation, the lawsuit said. A representative initially expressed strong interest and asked for pictures and descriptions of the art, but the foundation eventually told him it would authenticate one or two of the pieces if he gave the foundation 10 pieces, according to the lawsuit. Cortez again contacted the foundation in 2006 but was told that the foundation was not certifying artworks like the ones he wished to submit at that time and further conversations and inquiries 'proved fruitless', the lawsuit said. | Keith Haring is an iconic New York artist famous for his cartoon-style street culture paintings .
He died in 1990 from AIDS .
A group of art collectors are suing his foundation, who publicly labelled about 90 Haring fakes .
The dealers claim the foundation refused to authenticate the paintings but they were real .
They are suing for defamation and what the comments have done to their business .
Haring art sells for around $500,000 to $1 million per painting . |
faf3c57734914bfadc2380a4052c97619e50d1de | By . Steve Nolan . PUBLISHED: . 00:14 EST, 21 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:48 EST, 21 January 2013 . 'Reprehensible crime': Claire Mosby, who stole over £31,000 from a school safe containing dinner money and funds for trips to fund her bingo addiction . A bingo addict who stole £31,000 to fund her habit from the primary school where she worked has been jailed. Claire Mosby was branded 'reprehensible' by a judge for placing her colleagues under suspicion by planting a spare key in the school safe, as the net began to close on her two-year deception. Mosby, 38, a former pupil and parent governor at Swarcliffe Primary School, Leeds, West Yorkshire, worked as office manager when she stole cash from the safe between 2009 and 2011. The cash had been collected for school dinners, from the school's nursery, breakfast club, after school club and a voluntary fund, made up of contributions to pay for extras such as school trips. Instead of banking the takings, the married mother-of-three used it fund her online gambling and bingo habit. She was jailed for 18 months at Leeds Crown Court. Judge Christopher Batty said: 'Swarcliffe Primary School is the heart of the community in which you and your family still live. 'The money that you stole represents the monies collected by the school from parents in the school. 'Money you know only too well they could ill-afford to give in the first place.' He added: 'I'm afraid it comes down to this - you did not care. Your need was too great.' Mosby originally began volunteering as a school governor and quickly became friends with headteacher Susan Sanderson, who recommended that she be put forward for the office manager's job. Suspicions about her behaviour were first raised by a council-employed school finance officer over low income levels in the school's dinner money account. The court heard Mosby's bank account details showed expenditure linked to online gambling and bingo websites, payments to loan companies - and even cash withdrawals from a machine close to a Mecca Bingo. As her deception was about to be discovered in March 2011, Mosby went into the school at a weekend and put a spare key in the safe in a bid to cover her tracks. Jailed: Claire Mosby was jailed for 18 months at Leeds Crown Court, pictured, after stealing more than £31,000 from a primary school . The next day she went to police to report cash being stolen. The judge said those actions amounted to Mosby 'laying down your defence'. He added: 'No one needs to tell you how reprehensible your behaviour is.' A jury found Mosby guilty of theft after a trial last year. Mosby, of Leeds, claimed she had known cash was going missing but did not report it as she would be putting the headteacher under pressure. | Claire Mosby, also a school governor, was jailed for 18 months .
She stole the money from Swarcliffe Primary in Leeds, West Yorkshire .
Mosby worked as office manager at the school when she stole the money .
She used the money to fund her online gambling and bingo habit . |
faf3ed54968a9e49392c79ec5a66a221da5c4857 | Miami (CNN) -- The University of Miami announced Sunday that it is barring its football team from bowl consideration this year as it remains under investigation by the NCAA over allegations that a booster showered dozens of players with cash and jewelry, and supplied prostitutes for players. "We understand and share the disappointment that our student-athletes, coaches, staff, supporters and fans are feeling but after lengthy discussions among university leaders, athletic administrators and outside counsel, it is a necessary step for our university," a statement released by the school said. With their sixth win Saturday against the University of South Florida, the Hurricanes became bowl-eligible under NCAA requirements. However, as a result of the self-imposed ban, the team will play its final game of the season Friday vs. Boston College. The Hurricanes community has been rocked since August by allegations leveled by Nevin Shapiro, a onetime Miami businessman serving a 20-year federal prison term for fraud. Shapiro told Yahoo Sports this summer that he showered dozens of Miami players with cash and jewelry, paid restaurant and nightclub tabs and supplied prostitutes over an eight-year period -- and that several coaches were aware of the activity. Shapiro was arrested in 2010 on charges of overseeing a Ponzi scheme that prosecutors determined totaled $930 million. He pleaded guilty to securities fraud and money laundering in September, and his accusations against Miami were part of his agreement to cooperate with prosecutors, his lawyer told CNN in August. The statement released Sunday said the university will "continue to work cooperatively with the NCAA on the joint inquiry to determine the true facts." | The team is under investigation by the NCAA .
A booster says he showered players with gifts .
The self-imposed bowl ban "is a necessary step for our university," the school says . |
faf4645c0d43891f87c939cf2b962e64db332485 | A Melbourne couple could be charged for giving their three-year-old son medicinal cannabis who was suffering from hundreds of life-threatening seizures a day. Under doctor's supervision, Cassie Batten and Rhett Wallace use cannabis oil to treat Cooper's severe epileptic seizures as he did not respond to any other medication. However Victorian police raided the family's Mernda home, north-east of Melbourne, and seized all the supply - leaving his parents fearful that they will lose their son. Meanwhile, there are more than 100,000 patients who legally access prescription cannabis in the US with 285 of them being under the age of 18. And there's also a burgeoning market which provides 'weed for kids'. Scroll down for video . Cooper would suffer from hundreds of life-threatening seizures a day if it wasn't for his medicinal marijuana . The three-year-old contracted meningitis a month after he was born which left him with severe epilepsy and cerebral palsy . His parents Rhett Wallace and Cassie Batten had their Melbourne home raided by police. Cooper's supply of cannabis tincture was seized . Upon receiving treatment through medicinal cannabis, Cooper's seizures have significantly reduced from hundreds a day to just two or three. Although Cooper was born a healthy child, one month later he contracted meningitis which left him with severe epilepsy and cerebral palsy. Cooper's marijuana oil, which is put into his milk before he is fed, has removed the ingredient which drug users get their high from. His parents are certain that if it wasn't for the cannabis tincture their son wouldn't be here today. 'Without the cannabis oil we wouldn't have our son today,' Mr Wallace told Channel Seven's Sunday Night program. 'We would be visiting him in a cemetery. 'We know that without the cannabis tincture – that's a death sentence to Cooper.' Cannabis oil is put into Cooper's milk and fed to him throughout the day . Cooper's parents believe that without medicinal marijuana, their son wouldn't be here today . But according to the Australian law, Mr Wallace and Ms Batten's only chance to save their son is seen as illegal. 'I understand that we're breaking the law but we're doing it to save out son,' Ms Batten said. 'We're not doing it out of pleasure, we're doing it because we have to.' The pair, who have no criminal history, say they shouldn't be treated like criminals. 'We're not criminals, we're simply trying to save our child,' Ms Batten said. The distraught mother also revealed on Sunday Night that she may have her son taken away by authorities after receiving increasing phone calls from the Department of Health Services. 'That's our biggest fear' Ms Batten said. 'Are they trying to say that we're not caring for him, we're not meeting his needs when doctors said that they've seen the opposite. That they've seen improvement with this treatment.' And while Australia continues the ongoing debate for legalisation of medicinal marijuana, Colorado - one of the 23 states in the US which permits cannabis use for patients - is meeting the high demands of weed for kids. There are more than 100,000 patients who legally access prescription cannabis in the US with 285 of them being under the age of 18 . There is a burgeoning marijuana business in Colorado, US . Colorado - one of the 23 states in the US which permits cannabis use for patients - is meeting the high demands of weed for kids . Cannabis cultivator Joel Stanley and his growing what's called Charlotte's Web which is specifically for intractable epilepsy . Cannabis cultivator Joel Stanley and his brothers are growing what's called Charlotte's Web, reported 60 Minutes. The strain - which is named after Charlotte Figi who's severe condition changed the laws in Colorado - is specially grown for 100s patients with intractable epilepsy. 'Most of those cases are paediatric cases,' Mr Stanley said. 'It's quite controversial - weed for kids. That's what we grow it for.' Mr Stanley explained that Charlotte's Web has a low dose of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and more cannabidiol (CBD). 'It is low in THC which makes it hemp strength,' Mr Stanley said. Although there are no studies which prove that medicinal cannabis for children is safe in the long term, there are 8000 others on the waiting list to get their hands on Charlotte's Web. They include Australian mother Sally White, who is considering moving to the US for her daughter. Australian mother Sally White is among the 8000 people on the waiting list for Joel Stanley's medicinal marijuana . Ms White is considering moving to the US so she can legally obtain cannabis to treat her daughter's seizures . 'It's ridiculous. There are other children who are taking medical marijuana through illegal means,' she said. 'We don't want to do that...our only option is to go to America.' Her 16-month-old daughter Zahlia was diagnosed with Aicardi Syndrome - a rare genetic disorder - at 12 weeks of age. She, like Cooper, suffers from daily seizures. 'What do you do? Do you watch her seizure until she dies?' Ms White asked. Ms White, like Cassie Batten and Rhett Wallace, believes medicinal marijuana can save her child's life and she want the Australian government to act now before it's too late. 'Being a politician, they would do something if it was their kid,' she said. 'But they obviously don't have sick kids.' | Melbourne couple Cassie Batten and Rhett Wallace fear they may lose their son Cooper .
They use medicinal cannabis to treat their three-year-old's life-threatening seizures .
They were significantly reduced from hundreds a day to two or three .
But police raided their home on July 10 and took all the supply .
In the US, medicinal marijuana is grown for kids with intractable epilepsy . |
faf49871fa79a42f395c0da7e79db4a3c77fee78 | Three people have been arrested after the skeletal remains of two men were found in a backyard of a home owned by Satanists in a North Carolina village. Pazuzu Illah Algarad, 35, was arrested and charged with murder last Sunday after the two bodies were discovered in shallow graves at the house in Clemmons where neighbors say he has performed animal sacrifices and satanic rituals. A friend claims that he had 'told everyone' about the bodies, but nobody believed him, and he described how he killed them, ate part of them and then burned the rest in a fire pit. Amber Nicole Burch, 24, who lives with Algarad and is described as his wife on Facebook, was also charged with murder, while 28-year-old Krystal Nicole Matlock has been charged as an accessory with police alleging that she helped bury the bodies. Held: Pazuzu Illah Algarad, 35, (left) and his 'wife' Amber Nicole Burch, 24, were arrested and charged with murder after the skeletal remains of two men were discovered in shallow graves behind their home . The first victim has been identified as 37-year-old Joshua Fredrick Wetzler while the second victim has been named as Tommy Dean Welch, 36. Police have said they also found animal bones in the property and that more arrests as part of the investigation are possible. After the trio were detained, Forsyth District Judge Gordon Miller assigned capital defenders to represent them. Miller told them that if convicted, they could receive life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. They are set to appear in court on October 23. Assisted: Krystal Nicole Matlock, 28, has been charged as an accessory with police alleging she helped bury the bodies . On the front door of the house where the skeletal remains were found was a sign warning law-enforcement not to enter. It reads: 'No gang members allowed: anyone that dresses the same, has the same badge and call themselves the authority of the land they did not create. Below and to the right is a picture of a skull and cross bones. Under that picture are the words, 'Evil will triumph'. According to the Winston-Salem Journal, Algarad was born in San Francisco, California, as John Lawson, but dropped out of high school, became a drug dealer. His mother Cynthia Lawson, who is also a Satanist, changed his name to Pazuzu - after the devil that possessed the girl in the film The Exorcis - and claimed it was of Iraqi descent. The Camel City Dispatch reported that his friends said he tried to paint a picture of himself serial killer Charles Manson, founder of the Church of Satan Anton LaVay, and British occultist Aleister Crowley. His tongue was split down the middle like a snake and he allegedly filed down his teeth to sharpen them. In 2010, Algarad was convicted on a charge of accessory after the fact in the shooting death of 30-year-old Joseph Chandler. Chandler's body was found near a river by police after his mother reported him missing that morning. According to state records, Algarad was on probation at the time the bodies were found on Sunday. Scene: Police found the bodies of two men behind the property on Knob Hill Drive in Clemmons, North Carolina . Victims: They have been identified as Joshua Fredrick Wetzler, 37, (left) and Tommy Dean Welch, 36 (right) Entrance: On the front door is a replica skeleton head and a sign warning off law enforcement from entering . Bianca Heath claimed she lived with Algarad for a month in 2005, and that he had spoken of the bones in his back yard. She told The Huffington Post: 'Paz told everyone. But I never believed him. I'm sure no one else believed him either. He laughed about the skeletal remains when telling the story on why he did what he did.' Heath said Algarad told her he picked up two prostitutes at two separate locations before he killed and ate them, burning the remains in a fire pit before burying the rest. In 2011, Burch was accused of slapping Algarad's mother in the face and attempting to choke her. She is described as Algarad's wife on Facebook, but authorities have said there is no legal document to suggest they are together. Couple: Algarad and Burch shared a home in Clemmons, North Carolina, where animal sacrifices and animal rituals were performed, according to neighbors . | Pazuzu Illah Algarad, 35, was arrested following the discovery in Clemmons .
He is named after the devil who possesses the girl in The Exorcist .
Amber Nicole Burch, 24, described as his wife, has also been charged .
She lived with Algarad and his Satanist mother Cynthia Lawson .
Krystal Nicole Matlock, 28, has been charged as an accessory to murder .
They believe the victims, both of them male, were killed and buried in 2009 .
One person claimed Algarad said he ate part of the victims and burned them .
If convicted Algarad, who was convicted of being an accessory in a shooting death in 2010, could face the death penalty . |
faf4cdc1653a46538e4a2e05daa7e3b2bc15bda1 | The way neurons are interconnected in the brain is complicated. But now scientists have created a new type of computer model to make artificial networks of nerve cells found in the hippocampus region of the brain. The hippocampus helps us form personal memories, and it is hoped the tool will shed more light on how these memories develop as they move through the region's different structures. Scientists have created a new type of computer model to make artificial networks of nerve cells in the hippocampus part of the brain. A model of a rat's hippocampus is pictured, with different colours denoting different regions. It is hoped the tool will shed more light on how the hippocampus forms memories . Scientists will also explore how the structure connects to the the brain, and which information arrives where and when, using models. The model has been created by Dr Martin Pyka and his colleagues from the Mercator Research Group in Germany. Dr Pyka developed a method that allows the brain's anatomic data and neurons to be reconstructed as a 3D model. Once built, this 3D model can be manipulated on a computer. The hippocampus enables humans to navigate space securely and to form personal memories. The region is seahorse shaped and is shaded in red in this illustration . Researchers from the Mercator Research Group in Germany, developed the method that means the brain can be constructed as a 3D model, and can be manipulated on a computer (pictured). Structures that form a rat's hippocampus, including CA1, CA3, subiculum and entorhinal cortex are pictured in blue, red, yellow and green . The hippocampus is a major part of the brains of humans and other vertebrates. It is named after its resemblance to a seahorse, with hippos meaning horse in Greek. It is located in the medial temporal lobe. The hippocampus belongs to the limbic system and plays important roles in the consolidation of information from the short-term memory to the long-term memory. Rodents use the brain region for spatial memory and navigation. In Alzheimer's disease, the hippocampus is one of the first regions of the brain to be damaged, leading to memory loss and disorientation. They claim that their approach is unique because it enables automatic calculation of the neural interconnection based on their position inside the space. Scientists can generate feasible network structures more easily than using other tools. They are using the models to monitor the way neural signals spread throughout the network time-wise, according to the study published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroanatomy. Dr Pyka has, so far, found evidence that the hippocampus' form and size could explain why neurons in those networks fire in certain frequencies. In future, this method may help us understand how animals, for example, combine various information to form memories within the hippocampus, in order to memorise food sources or dangers and to remember them in certain situations. The researchers have so far shown off a model of a rat’s hippocampus including its different layers such as the CA1 and CA3 regions, the subiculum and entorhinal cortex. Dr Pyka has so far found evidence that the hippocampus' form and size could explain why neurons in those networks fire in certain frequencies. Neurons in a mouse hippocampus are pictured . | Scientists at the Mercator Research Group creates the new models .
It lets experts make artificial networks of nerve endings in the hippocampus - on a computer screen so they can explore how memories form .
The hippocampus is thought to be one of the oldest regions of the brain .
Scientists are monitoring the way neural signals spread throughout the network time-wise using their new tool .
In the furure they hope to show how animals memorise food and dangers . |
faf4e2ff0dda003a621689a7ac95803c48ca86b3 | By . Associated Press Reporter and Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 23:33 EST, 3 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 15:24 EST, 4 April 2013 . Shamed drugs cheat Lance Armstrong has pulled out of a swim meet because doing so may have violated his worldwide ban from competition. Swimming's international federation body raised objections to Armstrong's participation in the Masters South Central Zone Swimming Championships at the University of Texas this weekend, U.S. Masters Swimming Executive Director Rob Butcher said today. Armstrong was to swim three distance events. Out of the pool: Lance Armstrong pulled out of a swim meet this weekend over concerns that doing may have violated his worldwide ban from competition . Butcher told The Associated Press. 'He doesn't want to cause any more harm to any more organizations. His interest was around fitness and training. 'In light of FINA [swimming's international governing body] and the other political stuff, he will not be swimming.' Although Butcher said Armstrong withdrew from the event, he likely didn't have a choice after FINA raised objections to his participation. Competitor: Armstrong was to swim three distance events in the event this weekend in Austin, Texas . An Armstrong spokesman did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment. The U.S Anti-Doping Agency banned Armstrong from sanctioned competition for life for his use of performance-enhancing drugs during a cycling career that included seven Tour de France titles. Butcher had said Wednesday that Armstrong, who is a U.S. Masters Swimming member, would be allowed to compete in his 40-44 age group because the master's event did not fall under USADA drug testing rules. But FINA sent a letter to U.S. Masters Swimming officials, saying that because U.S. Masters Swimming is under its umbrella as a sanctioning body, it must recognize the World Anti-Doping Code and bar Armstrong from competition. 'We're expecting them to apply the rules,' FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu told the AP. Armstrong had to register for the Austin event by March 31. According to the meet event sheets, Armstrong had the second-best qualifying time in the 1,000 freestyle and No. 3 in the 1,650- and 500 freestyle events. U.S. Master's Swimming does not drug test. Butcher said earlier that U.S. Masters Swimming has debated in the past whether to start testing and . whether Armstrong or other athletes who have been caught doping should . be allowed to compete. 'We just stick to the fact that our purpose is encouraging adults to swim,' Butcher said. Armstrong . had been pursuing a post-cycling career in triathlons before he was . banned by USADA for performance-enhancing drug use. A message was left . seeking comment from USADA. Armstrong had to register for the Austin event by March 31. Drugs: The swimming competition was originally not believed to be covered under the same anti-doping rules as the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which banned Armstrong for life from its sanctioned events . According to the meet event sheets, Armstrong has the second-best qualifying time in the 1,000 and No. 3 in the 1,650 and 500. He denied doping for years until USADA issued a massive report in 2012 detailing drug use by Armstrong and his teams. In January, Armstrong admitted during an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he used steroids, blood boosters and other banned performance-enhancing drugs and methods during his career. Armstrong also was removed from the board of the Livestrong cancer foundation he formed in 1997 after being diagnosed with testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain. Coming clean: Armstrong finally admitted in a January interview with Oprah that he took performance-enhancing drugs for years while he won seven Tour de France titles . | Armstrong withdrew over questions of his eligibility following lifetime ban on competition by the U.S. Anti-doping agency .
Was due to swim in three distance events in the competition this weekend in Austin, Texas . |
faf4f1523fc0b97031eee5d61bce72d10699ccfe | (CNN) -- A 39-year-old woman in Utah told police she either strangled or suffocated at least six babies immediately after she gave birth to them over a period of years, a document shows. Megan Hunstman appeared in court Monday where she is facing six counts of murder, according to Chief Michael Smith with the Pleasant Grove, Utah, police department. She's being held on $6 million bail. Over the weekend, authorities found the remains of seven infants at a home where Huntsman used to live. "During her interview, Ms. Huntsman admitted that between 1996 and 2006, she gave birth to at least seven babies at the Pleasant Grove residence, and that all of the babies, but one, were born alive, and that she either strangled or suffocated the babies immediately after they were born," read a probable cause statement. "According to Ms. Huntsman, she then concealed their bodies inside boxes and placed them inside the garage of the Pleasant Grove residence," the statement added. Police first responded to the home on Saturday. Huntsman's estranged husband, Darren West, contacted authorities after finding a baby wrapped in a plastic bag in the garage, the statement said. A search warrant was obtained and officers discovered six more bodies at the home. "Each baby was found wrapped in either a towel or a shirt, placed inside of a plastic bag, and each was contained in a separate cardboard box," the statement read. It was not immediately clear whether Huntsman has retained counsel. According to Smith, West does not face charges. "He has been cooperative," the police chief said. "But we continue to investigate what type of knowledge or role he may have played, if any." The Utah case sounds eerily familiar to a case in France a few years ago. Prosecutors there charged a woman with murder in 2010 after she admitted giving birth to and smothering eight babies over a 17-year period. The case came to light when a couple gardening in their backyard in the northern town of Villers-au-Tertre found two babies' bodies in sealed plastic bags and called police. Police spoke to Dominique Cottrez and her husband, who had previously lived in the home, and Cottrez admitted immediately that she was the mother of the two babies, prosecutor Eric Vaillant told reporters. She then told police about six others concealed in their garage. It is unclear from subsequent media reports about the Cottrez case whether it has been resolved. Louisville woman charged after newborn found dead in Kohl's restroom . Mom kills two of her children during attempted exorcism . Opinion: Why would a mother kill her children? CNN's Janet DiGiacomo contributed to this report. | NEW: The case sounds eerily familiar to a case in France a few years ago .
Megan Hunstman faces murder charges; she's being held on $6 million bail .
The infants' bodies were discovered at a home where the woman used to live .
They were wrapped in towels or shirts and placed in cardboard boxes . |
faf5b1b856a71afa9fdc7ef86b5aeef1189dcefc | By . Thomas Durante, Michael Zennie, Emily Davies and Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 11:43 EST, 1 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:18 EST, 1 April 2013 . It's one of the most devastating injuries in the history of sports, but it's not keeping Kevin Ware down. The 20-year-old Louisville basketball star was back on his feet today, just hours after the horrific leg fracture that had his right tibia breaking through the skin in a stomach-churning moment. 'I'll be back next season,' Ware tweeted to his fans from his bed at Methodist Hospital in Indiana on Monday. Earlier, he was pictured sporting a leg cast, a pair of crutches and a Final Four hat. Scroll down for videos . Up and running: Kevin Ware was pictured in crutches and a Final Four hat hours after suffering the grisly injury . On the mend: Ware poses with Coach Rick Pitino, left, son Richard Pitino, right, and the NCAA regional championship trophy as they visited him in his hospital room on Monday morning . Doctors say that the surgery to repair the break was successful, and while his road to recovery is a daunting one, he should be able to play again. The Cardinals plan to leave for the Final Four in Atlanta on Wednesday night, and Louisville coach Rick Pitino said they expect to have Ware traveling with them. Ware is originally from New York City, but he moved to the Atlanta area before high school. Showing some leg: Ware posted a photo on Twitter of his surgically-repaired leg on Monday . 'He gets to go home, be with his family and be with us on the bench,' Pitino said. 'He's in very good spirits and anxious to get out of the hospital and get back with the guys. Through his Twitter account, Ware thanked his fans for their support and NCAA president Mark Emmert for visiting him in the hospital. He also posted a photo of his surgically-repaired leg as he laid in his hospital bed. Ware's girlfriend stayed with him overnight, and his mother and her husband arrived Monday. 'She just needed to see him this morning,' Pitino said. 'She was crying all night. Once she gave him a hug this morning, she was fine. Everything is good right now.' Ware's injury, which dominated social media on Sunday night, got the attention of everyone from famous athletes to celebrities. Television analyst Greg Anthony and even Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski called him Monday to see how Ware was doing. Senior athletic director Kevin Klein tweeted that Ware will be hospitalized until tomorrow, when he's expected to re-join his team as they travel to Atlanta for the semifinal game. After the injury, which took place in front of millions of horrified TV viewers, Ware valiantly told teammates: 'Don't worry about me, win this thing' after he landed badly from a jump to block a three-point shot during the Louisville-Duke game on Sunday night. Pitino and the Louisville team were in tears and some even vomited as Ware screamed in pain and writhed in agony on the court. Pictures posted to Twitter show Louisville basketball player Kevin Ware recovering in hospital after suffering a severe broken leg in the game against Duke . Kevin Ware was pictured holding the Midwest region title trophy after his surgery on his broken right leg . Horrific: Kevin Ware, 20, screams with pain as trainers cover his leg following a crippling injury Sunday night during the Louiseville-Duke game . Hurt: Ware, 20, is comforted by teammate Luke Hancock after the horrific injury. He was quickly loaded onto a stretcher and taken to the hospital . Inspiration: Despite unimaginable pain, Ware reportedly told teammates not to worry about him and to focus on winning the game . Trainers immediately covered the leg with a towel and . placed Ware on a backboard, then lifted him onto a stretcher. For television viewers, it was a terrifying sight that prompted many to express their sentiments on social media sites. CBS even stopped showing the replay, which was not seen inside Lucas Oil Stadium. But for Louisville players and coaches, it was far worse. Kevin Ware's break of the right tibia will go down in history as one of the most grisly sports injuries, but doctors agree that he will most likely be able to continue playing. Ware underwent successful surgery last night at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. In a two hour-procedure, doctors reset the broken bone and sewed up the wound from which the tibia had protruded. Fred Hina, Louisville's director of sports medicine, told USA Today that Ware's road to recovery will be a long one, but he should be able to play the game again. Dr Reed Estes, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said basketball players are prone to stress fractures in the tibia, the larger of the two leg bones, and that can weaken them. 'If these are not detected they can result in a full fracture, particularly if the landing mechanics are just right' after a jump, he said. Ware should be fine to play next season, he said. Dr Frederick Azar, head of the Campbell Clinic in Memphis, Tennessee, and a spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, said Ware 'jumped pretty far horizontally and vertically, and he landed with a twist,' which puts so much torsion and stress on the bones they could have just snapped. He agreed with Estes' assessment that a stress fracture could have made Ware more prone to the injury. Guard Russ Smith said he didn't see . the play but heard the bone snap. And forward Chane Behanan, Ware's . closest friend, said the sight was almost unimaginable. Pitino, one of college basketball's top winners, thought he had seen just about everything in the sport until Ware's injury. Ware's teammates responded to the . shock of his loss by returning to the court with a vengeance. The second . half of the game saw Louisville dominate Duke - clobbering the Blue . Devils 85-63. School officials said doctors reset the bone and inserted a rod into the tibia during the two-hour procedure on Sunday night. A few hours later, his coach showed up at the hospital with a gift: The regional championship trophy. 'He was groggy, in good spirits,' said Rick Pitino. He added: 'He saw us win the trophy and was . crying and said it was all worthwhile. We didn't cut down the net, but I left him the . trophy.' Pitino said he and his son Richard, . who recruited Ware, spent the night in Indiana, along with the team's doctors. Louisville will play Wichita State in . the Final Four next weekend. The winner of that game plays for the NCAA . men's basketball championship. His teammates held up a jersey with Ware's name as they celebrated their resounding victory. After the game, Pitino . said: 'The bone’s 6 inches out of his leg and all he's yelling is, "Win the game, win the game" 'I've not seen that in my life. … Pretty special young man. He told NBC: 'We won this for him. We were all choked up with emotion for him. We’ll get him back to normal. We’ve got great doctors, great trainers. We talked about it every timeout, "Get Kevin home."' A haunting silence fell over Lucas Oil Stadium . in Indianapolis, Indiana, where the Elite Eight game was being played, . as fans waited for news of Ware's condition. The injury occurred with 6:33 left in . the first half as Duke's Tyler Thornton made a 3-pointer to get the . Blue Devils within 21-20. Ware tried to block the shot but landed on his feet awkwardly and his leg . buckled. The injury happened in front of the Louisville bench, and the Cardinals were overcome with emotion. Six inches of Ware's leg bone was left protruding after the injury and players including Russ Smith collapsed to the floor and were clearly crying as doctors attended to Ware. Sickened: Ware's teammates sobbed on the court after seeing their friend so badly injured during the game . Backing: After tweeting his support, legendary NFL quarterback texted Kevin Ware to offer 'anything he needed' In his shoes: Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, who's recovering from a knee injury he suffered in the NFL playoffs in January, tweeted: 'Prayers up for Kevin Ware, his teammates, & family' As . Ware was being loaded onto a stretcher, the Cardinals gathered at . midcourt until Pitino called them over, saying that Ware . wanted to talk to them before he left. An outpouring of support has emerged for the injured Louisville guard, including from fellow athletes and celebrities. Former . Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann, who famously sustained a . broken leg during a Monday Night Football game against the New York . Giants, tweeted, 'Watching Duke/ Louisville my heart goes out to Kevin . Ware.' Pitino wiped away his eyes as Ware was wheeled out, as did several of the Louisville players. If anyone knows what . Ware is going through, it's Theismann, whose career was finished when . he was brought down by Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor, and his knee . drove into his lower leg bones. Theismann told NFL AM that he had texted Ware to offer 'anything he needed.' He said: 'The emotional part of it is . where I can maybe help walk him through it because I can tell him . everything that he's going to feel, I can tell him everything that he's . going to go through emotionally.' Current Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, who's recovering from a knee injury he suffered in the NFL playoffs in January, tweeted: 'Prayers up for Kevin Ware, his teammates, & family.' He also got personal shout-outs from NBA stars like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Today show anchor Matt Lauer posted: 'Sounds like Kevin Ware's surgery went well. My thoughts are with him this morning. So hard to see something like that!' 'Worst thing I've ever seen on a basketball court,' tweeted Yahoo basketball analyst Pat Forde. Ware, . a native of the Bronx, New York, is a sophomore who has become a . force on the number-one-ranked Cardinals team during the NCAA . Tournament. Emotional: Despite being devastated by Ware's injury, the Cardinals took charge of the game during the second half, leading Duke by more than ten points . Even Rick Pitino, the hardened coach of the Louisville Cardinals, fought back tears as his player was carted away from the court . The Cardinals consoled each other as they struggled to come to terms with the graphic injury that witnessed in front of their bench . | Kevin Ware, 20, pictured on crutches and in a Final Four cap at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis .
He landed badly on his right leg during Louisville-Duke game .
Teammates sobbed and vomited after the accident in front of Louisville's bench .
Ware said 'Don't worry about me. Win this thing' before he was carted away .
Louisville clobbered Duke 85-63 and earned a trip to the NCAA Final Four . |
faf5bac41eb72b85be55cffdb6f96f0febf8df97 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 11:50 EST, 24 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 12:11 EST, 24 January 2014 . A decomposing body has been found in the trunk of a car has been identified as Gianni Belvedere, 24. Mr Belvedere's younger brother, Salvatore, 22, and Gianni's fiance, Illona Flint, 22, were shot dead in their car outside a San Diego shopping mall on December 24. Gianni Belvedere had not been seen since the killings until last weekend when his body was discovered in the trunk of his green Toyota Camry, around 100 miles from San Diego. Scroll down for video . Found: The body found last week in a Riverside parking lot has been identified as 24-year-old Gianni Belvedere of San Diego, Riverside police said . Investigation: An autopsy determined that Belvedere, who had been missing since the Christmas Eve murders of his fiancée and brother at a Mission Valley mall, was the victim of a homicide. The body was identified through fingerprints . Investigators had been looking for Belvedere and his dark-green 2004 Toyota Camry with Utah license plates since the Tierrasanta resident’s younger brother and fiancee were found shot to death at Westfield Mission Valley. San Diego police did not name Belvedere as a suspect in the killings of Salvatore Belvedere and Ilona Flint, both 22, but listed him as a missing person at risk. The last known sighting of the older brother was in Mission Valley about three hours before the shootings at the mall, authorities said. Killed: Gianni Belevedere (left) and Salvatore Belvedere (right) were all the victims of homicide . Dead: Gianni Belvedere's body (left) was found last weekend in the trunk of his car. He had not been seen since the triple murders that included Gianni's fiancee Ilona Flint and his younger brother, Salvatore Belvedere. They were found shot dead in a San Diego mall parking lot on Christmas Eve . Police discovered the body of a man in the trunk of missing Gianni Belvedere's car this weekend after a passerby called about a strong odor . Witness Gabby Alcarez told ABC that she called police because '[T]he odor is pretty strong, like when I passed by it'. A recently-released audio tape of a 911 call that Miss Flint managed to make before she died from her wounds gave police other details on a suspect. She told an emergency dispatcher that . she didn't know precisely where she was but that she was near the . Westfield Mission Valley Mall. Both victims were hit in the head and torso as they sat in a black sedan outside a Macy's store in the early hours of Christmas Eve. The audio tape identifies an individual who left the scene in a 2008/2011 dark gray Honda Civic. San Diego police are baffled by the crime for which they have no motive and no suspects. The family of Miss Flint released a statement today which read: 'We consider Gianni Belvedere to be our . son as much as the Belvederes consider Ilona to be their daughter. Death of friends: Ilona Flint (right) managed to make a 911 call after being shot, but died moments later. Salvatore Belvedere died in a hospital several days later . Found: Gianni Belevedere's body was found in the trunk of his own Toyota Camry . Ilona Flint, 22, and the little brother of her fiancé Salvatore Belvedere, 22, died from gunshot wounds after being attacked outside this San Diego mall . 'The Belvedere and Flint-Jones families thank the media . for respecting our privacy during this difficult time.' Lt . Mike Hastings from the San Diego police department's homicide unit said . in December that they are looking for a 5ft 9 to 5ft 11 male of unknown . race, last seen dressed in a shirt and tan pants. Anyone . with information is asked to call the San Diego Police Department's . Homicide Unit on (619) 531-2293 or San Diego County Crime Stoppers at . (888) 580-8477. Shot: Flint, who worked at a store in the mall, was being picked up by the younger Belvedere brother, San Diego police said. The pair, both 22, were sitting in a car when they were shot multiple times . Tragic: The shooting took place in the car park of a Macy's store early on Christmas Eve morning . | Ilona Flint, 22, and Salvatore Belvedere, 22, shot dead in their car .
outside a San Diego shopping mall on December 24 .
Gianni Belvdere, 24, has now also been found in the trunk of his own car 100 miles away from where the other two were found .
Police have not found a motive or suspect for the killings . |
faf5c3e6cae51db3c9894eec1c7cc9a36ecd4346 | (CNN) -- Within just a few days, Ray Fearing went from the height of ecstasy -- he had just gotten a much-needed kidney transplant -- to the depths of depression, after finding out his transplant would need to be removed. "I had been waiting for 10 years to finally have a normal life," said Fearing, a 27-year-old from Arlington Heights, Illinois. "When it didn't work out, for a few days I just curled inward and started losing all hope. It was not an easy time." What is notable about Fearing's case is not that he eventually got over his depression, or that he had an organ removed after transplantation -- those things happen. What is remarkable is the simple, altruistic gesture he made just before his doctors removed his kidney that led to what scientists are describing as a medical first. Fearing donated his transplanted kidney to another patient, and the organ that had been failing inside Fearing's body thrived in the new recipient. "When we removed that dysfunctioning kidney from Ray's environment, it recovered rapidly after being transplanted in a second recipient," said Dr. Lorenzo Gallon, Fearing's doctor and medical director of the kidney transplant program Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "It is the first time that has happened." "It's amazing stuff, it really is," said Dr. Lynda Szczech, a nephrologist and president of the National Kidney Foundation. "I don't know if this is something we're going to get into with great regularity, but the fact that these providers were able to think outside the box to save such a precious resource is frankly amazing." Fearing's kidney transplant was in June 2011, using an organ donated by his sister, Cera Fearing. He had been struggling for years with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a disease that causes scar tissue to develop in the part of the kidney that filters harmful substances. A few days after his operation, doctors took a biopsy of the new kidney and found it was quickly becoming damaged by the FSGS. The cascade of problems following the operation was swift. Fearing said that soon after his operation, "My abdomen was full of blood and very sore and [Dr. Gallon] told me he had to remove the kidney immediately." Gallon said the situation, having to remove an organ to which so many hopes were now attached, haunted him. But when he realized the organ could still be viable in another patient, he decided to broach the idea with Fearing. "I said the kidney is yours, we can do whatever you want," said Gallon, who consulted with his hospital's ethics board before approaching Fearing. "But if we take it out, we will discard it. Are you willing to allow us to see if this kidney might work for someone else?" Fearing did not hesitate. "There are thousands of people waiting for organs, I couldn't see myself just discarding one," said Fearing. The window of time in which to remove an organ that has been transplanted is narrow, said Dr. Matthew Cooper, director of the kidney transplant program at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Once a kidney is put into place, like any other transplant, it develops scar tissue around it. "After a period of time, technically it is very difficult to remove it," said Cooper. "It is equally difficult to think about transferring it to someone else." Cooper said he just had scenario similar to Fearing's: A mother donated a kidney to her daughter, who suffers with FSGS. Ultimately, the kidney had to be removed. "Hearing about this case, I'm thinking 'Wow, what a cool idea,'" said Cooper. "I don't know why we didn't think of it." Of course, the procedure undertaken at Northwestern is not standard; an organ with even marginal functionality would usually stay in the patient. "In this case we're not talking about a lack of perfect function," said Gallon. "We're talking about a kidney making Ray sicker than it would have been to keep the kidney in." But that kidney would ultimately make another patient, 67-year-old Erwin Gomez, better. Gomez's kidneys were irreversibly damaged, he said, after 20 years of struggling with hypertension. Once he received the new kidney, whatever damage that had occurred while it was implanted in Fearing was reversed. "The disease, if captured early enough, is reversible when you remove the organ from the original recipient," said Gallon. "But another part of the story is that when a patient's kidney failed, he had the strength to say 'Let's help someone else.' That gesture has more weight than words." The reality Fearing faces now is a long, difficult wait for another organ.For Gomez, receiving Fearing's organ means he could go back to work as a cardiovascular surgeon, and he has more time with his grandchildren. "I feel bad for him because his misfortune is my gain," said Gomez, who on Wednesday met Fearing and his sister, Cera. "I'm completely grateful to them for considering re-transplanting that kidney ... I owe them eternal gratitude." Fearing said that when he thinks about other people (91,836 and counting) waiting for a kidney transplant possibly benefitting from what he went through, it stems the tide of sadness he sometimes feels about his situation. "It was hell when I went through it," said Fearing. "It is better that my situation helps people than having it take over my life." | Transplant recipient Ray Fearing donates his failing transplanted kidney to another patient .
For the first time a failing transplanted kidney has thrived in a new recipient, says doctor .
It allows the new recipient to resume his work as a cardiovascular surgeon .
"It's amazing stuff, it really is," says president of the National Kidney Foundation . |
faf5e36c67de12654252e4890b40297de6f0f18e | Muhammad Ali is loved across the world, but his three visits to London cemented a special bond with the British public. Over the space of three years, Ali won each of his fights against the best Britain had to offer, starting with his first clash with Henry Cooper in 1963. Despite being dropped by Enry's 'Ammer in the fourth round, Ali - then known as Cassius Clay - won by stoppage in the fifth, just as he had predicted. Ali returned to the capital three years later for two fights in the space of three months. Having won the world heavyweight title against Sonny Liston, he made a third successful defence in his rematch with Cooper at Highbury, then home to Arsenal. In August, he fought at Earls Court Arena, knocking out Brian London in the third round. Away from the ring, however, Ali was photographed at various London landmarks as he prepared for his three fights. Here, Sportsmail takes you back through the scrapbook to a golden age in heavyweight prizefighting. Everton supporters who were in London to see their team play Sheffield Wednesday in the 1966 FA Cup final watch Muhammad Ali shadow box . Ali leaves his London hotel for early morning training in preparation for his rematch with Henry Cooper, accompanied by two police officers . Accompanied by his brother Rahaman Ali (background), Ali returns to his hotel ahead of his fight against Brian London in summer 1966 . Ali was adhering to an intensive routine which started at 5am - he had predicted he would beat Cooper in five rounds in their first meeting . Ali, hooded and in heavy boots, overtakes a horse-drawn carriage during an early morning training session in Hyde Park in 1966 . Ali, accompanied by training partner Jimmy Ellis, runs along Regent Street (left) in 1963 and near the White City gym (right) three years later . Ali prepares for his fight with Cooper which would take place at Wembley Stadium with Ali winning in the fifth round, as he predicted . Ali trains in Rotten Row in Hyde Park with his sparring partner Ellis in 1966. The pair pause as they are joined by a tiny poodle, Cindy. Ali takes a rest in Hyde Park ahead of his fight with Cooper. He would later have a rematch with the British heavyweight, stopping him in six . | Former heavyweight champion of the world Muhammad Ali fought in London three times in the space of three years .
His first was a non-title fight against Henry Cooper in which he survived a fourth-round knockdown to beat the Brit .
Ali returned to the capital three years later for a rematch with Cooper - the American won in the sixth round .
His final trip to London on official business came three months later when he stopped Brian London at Earls Court .
CLICK HERE for all the latest boxing news . |
faf5e431bed31d01c5087ccb040387b71d71522d | Kabul (CNN) -- A suicide bomber dressed as a security guard blew himself up Wednesday in a street near the U.S. Embassy in the Afghan capital, killing himself and two other people, authorities said. The attacker set off the explosives attached to his body around 8 a.m. after he was noticed by security guards in the neighborhood, said Sediq Seddiqi, a spokesman for the Afghan interior ministry. The blast took place in a district that houses international organizations, diplomats and senior government officials. Afghan authorities don't know what the bomber's intended target was, Seddiqi said. One of the people killed was a security guard and another was a civilian, Seddiqi said. One person was wounded in the attack, he said. Violent attacks are frequent across the country, where Afghan and NATO troops are battling an insurgency led by the Taliban. Kabul, where the Afghan government is based and many foreign organizations have heavily guarded headquarters, hasn't been spared from the unrest. In September, a suicide bomber killed six people and wounded four others near the headquarters of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). And in April, Afghan security forces said they repulsed a wave of insurgent attacks in the capital and three other provinces. Buildings that came under attack included the Afghan Parliament and the American, German and Russian embassies. | The explosion happens in a district housing international organizations .
One security guard and one civilian are killed by the suicide bomber, who also died .
Violent attacks are frequent across Afghanistan, including Kabul . |
faf6405a78adcc6a33152755efef34c2075c1730 | Wedding photos are obviously very special to any couple when remembering their big day but usually, after the initial excitement dies down, most people get a tad fed up if you keep sharing them enthusiastically. But it seems the internet can't get enough of one couple's nuptial shots after they went viral following their spontaneous descision to hold the ceremony in Iceland after wedding planning became too hectic. The American couple, Josh and Sarah Walk, both 20, had originally planned to hold their wedding ceremony in Waynesville, Ohio but swapped their location to Reykjavik, Iceland where they were due to have their honeymoon, resulting in some spectacular weddings shots. Breathtaking: Josh and Sarah Walk decided to elope to Iceland for their wedding after wedding plans got too much . The couple were captured in their full . wedding outfits in front of stunning waterfalls and incredible mountain . ranges over a two-day period. The couple posted their beautiful wedding snaps on Facebook the day after the ceremony, June 6 and immediately saw a phenomenal response with the collection of images going viral and shared across the world. The photographer who captured the breathtaking images was Gabe McClintock, from Calgary in Alberta, Canda. He caught Sarah's eye whilst she was browsing the Internet and says she knew immediately that there was no one else for the job. 'I'd seen Gabe's blog and the photographs were like nothing I had ever seen before - he had to shoot the wedding' said Sarah. Natural beauty: A day after posting their images on Facebook the couple saw their pictures shared worldwide . A ceremony with a difference: The couple are married on the rough terrain in Iceland . Here comes the bride: Sarah Walk makes her way towards her remote wedding . Happily ever after: Josh and Sarah are thrilled with the gorgeous wedding photographs . You may kiss the bride: Not many first wedding kisses take place on a cliff in Iceland . Awe-inspiring: The couple posed in front of beautiful water-falls and mountain ranges for their unique set of photos . The bride continued to say that Iceland provided the perfect backdrop for the awe-inspiring photographs. 'When we arrived in Iceland we fell in love at first sight. It's the most awe-inspiring location we could have imagined - there are no words to describe the grandeur and untouched beauty. 'When we got to see the photographs they were beyond anything we had hoped for and we can't wait to display them in our home for decades to come.' Josh Walk added that he had never anticipated such a huge response to the photographs but was thrilled to have shared his experience with the world. 'We are so grateful for the opportunity to share our love and memories from that time with others' said the groom. 'I never expected the photos to go viral, so to have that happen has been such an amazing experience.' Find out more about Gabe McClintock at www.facebook.com/GabeMcClintockPhotography . Young love: The young couple decided to have a wedding with a difference after falling in love with Iceland . Stormy setting: The wedding shoot took place over two days . Grey skies: The dark Icelandic weather made the perfect backdrop for the photographs . Just the two of us: The couple kept their wedding simple with not a guest in sight . Change of a dress: Sarah swapped her white bridal gown for a black ensemble for the remainder of the shoot . Atmospheric: The brave couple teeter on the edge of a cliff for another epic shot . Together forever: The couple chose photographer Gabe McClintock to capture their special day . | Sarah and Josh Walk decided to forgo their traditional wedding and elope to Iceland .
A day after posting their wedding photos on Facebook the couple saw a huge response with the images going viral .
They used Canadian photographer Gabe McClintock to capture their special day . |
faf73094dd56eb347d3ae5c11bf0a15a7af07604 | (CNN) -- The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating why a regional commuter plane landed at the wrong West Virginia airport Tuesday night. United Express Flight 4049 operated by Silver Airways was supposed to fly from Morgantown to Clarksburg but landed instead at Fairmont Municipal Airport about 10 miles away. The Saab 340B plus aircraft can seat up to 34 people, but had 11 passengers and three crew members on board at the time, according to Silver Airways spokesman Scott Bennett. "All passengers were re-accommodated to North Central West Virginia Airport ... in Clarksburg in a timely fashion," Silver Airways said in a statement. "Safety is our top priority, and we have launched an internal review to determine what led to the flight diversion," David Querio, chief operating officer of Silver Airways said in the statement e-mailed to CNN. "We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience to passengers aboard flight 4049 last evening." Pending the investigation, the flight crew has been removed from service, Bennett said. Silver Airways, based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, started operations in last year and currently operates 120 flights a day on its 31 aircraft, according to the company's website. The Morgantown to Clarksburg route is new for the airline, which took over those flights August 1. | The plane landed about 10 miles from its designated destination .
11 passengers were "re-accommodated" to their destination, the airline says .
The FAA is investigating . |
faf7642c4ea28444e25c8379208d5e8ff0da335e | (CNN)Yes, New York City got a lot less snow than forecast. Yes, if we had known there would be this little snow, things probably wouldn't have needed to get shut down as much as they were. But most of the complaining -- about either the forecast or the decisions by local and state governments -- is misguided. First of all, taking a look at the big picture, this storm was forecast pretty well. The forecast was that a big storm would develop rapidly and cause heavy snow across much of the coastal northeast, from New Jersey up through New England, as well as high winds and coastal flooding. All that happened. The peak snow accumulations are coming in as high as advertised, just not in New York City. There were very sharp gradients in the snow accumulations. That is, big differences over short distances. So a small eastward shift in the track of the storm was enough to take away most of our snow. Just 10 or 20 miles east of the city, in Long Island, snow totals are much higher. The reality is that weather forecasts are always going to be uncertain. Forecasters are looking at a range of possibilities, as spelled out in different model simulations. They have to choose among them, or split the difference in some way. But there is no perfect way to know which is right, and there never will be. The science tells us that that is the nature of weather prediction: The information is inherently uncertain. That's just how it is. Some meteorologists apologize . The right way to communicate uncertain information, really, is through probabilities. The models showed a sharp gradient in snowfall, but showed New York City on the snowy side. However, it was also clear that if the track were wrong, the city might avoid the worst of the snow. That uncertainty wasn't fully communicated. That suggests that if this storm points to a failure, it's really a failure not of the specific forecast, but of the format and language that is used to communicate all forecasts, an approach that fails to clearly spell out uncertainties and the difficulty of picking one of a number of potential storm tracks. Of course, that has nothing to do with the complaints about the transit shutdowns, because those decisions could -- and perhaps should -- have been made regardless. But it's important to remember that despite the uncertainties, decision makers have to make decisions, and being under-prepared for a storm that turns out to be worse than the forecast can lead to serious loss of life and property. Being over-prepared, in contrast, merely leads to lots of griping on the Internet. In the face of uncertainty, the right thing to do is almost always going to be to assume the worst-case scenarios. Maybe some decisions could have been different given what was known at the time (in particular, the subway shutdown might have been unnecessary even if the snow totals had come in as high as forecast). But it's still way too easy for those of us with no responsibility to play Monday morning quarterback. And overall, given the uncertainty of the different models -- and the fine line between the correct call and an inaccurate one -- the authorities look to have taken the right approach in being proactive. Good weather forecasts and well-informed, proactive emergency preparation and management save lives and property. Those are great benefits to society, and if people take them for granted most of the time, that's OK. But it's also important to understand that the unavoidable cost of enjoying these benefits is that sometimes, the problem won't be as bad as forecast, and so some decisions might seem unnecessary after the fact. So next time there is a forecast of a big storm, don't be tempted to disbelieve it just because you think this one was overblown. After all, there are many people in parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island right now who will be very glad indeed about the weather forecasters' -- and their elected officials' -- caution. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Adam Sobel. | New York City spared worst of winter storm .
Adam Sobel: Officials still right to be cautious . |
faf7acec8f31b6742a1fd99b35e8b7060f809f42 | A woman whose breakthrough treatment of a bone disease with penicillin led to modern medical practices died on March 1 -- two days before her 83rd birthday. Genean Hixon was one of the first American civilians to be treated with the drug, The Denver Post reports. Hixon, born Genean Smith on March 3, 1931, was hospitalized in July 1943 with severe osteomyelitis, the paper reports -- a bone disease then-considered incurable and possibly fatal. Genean Hixon, pictured, died March 1 -- two days short of her 83rd birthday . Hixon spent several years hospitalized before she was treated with penicillin for osteomyelitis . Her daughter, Connie Hixon Davis, told the Post that her mother spent more than four years in hospital beds in her teens but was saved by the treatment. Hixon was subsequently known as the 'Penicillin Girl' after being treated with the drug. She reportedly received fan mail, and even a bouquet of roses from one soldier. 'Interestingly, she developed an allergy to penicillin and couldn't take it in her later years,' Hixon Davis told the paper. Hixon, seen here, was sadly diagnosed with liver cancer in December, causing her death . Penicillin, which was used to treat Hixon's osteomyelitis, is now considered a standard treatment for the bone disease . Claude Smith, Genean Hixon's father, along with a doctor reportedly convinced the National Research Council to share penicillin with his daughter, the Post reports. At that time, the drug was reserved mainly for the military. On February 19, 1951, Hixon met future husband Donald Hixon, whom she married later that year, the paper reports. The couple went on to have six children together. Hixon was diagnosed with liver cancer in December, causing her death. She is survived by her husband, brother Gerald Smith, 79, 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, according to the Post. | Genean Hixon, born in March 1931, was one of the first American civilians to be treated with penicillin .
Died two days before her 83rd birthday .
Suffered from bone disease osteomyelitis, then considered incurable and possibly fatal .
Spent more then four years in hospital beds before being saved by penicillin .
Survived by husband, brother, 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren . |
faf7e424ff2659f4a3ca6b28a519c49c7d1230ad | (CNN) -- A man in northern Idaho says he has seen a massive hand of God in his life, and he is willing to share it with the highest bidder. Paul Grayhek says the "Hand of God" appeared in his backyard in March. Paul Grayhek, 52, listed the rock formation he dubbed the "Hand of God Rock Wall" on the online auction Web site eBay. The highest bid was $250 early Sunday, with three days left to go in the auction. The hand-like formation, approximately 9 feet tall and 4 feet wide, appeared in Grayhek's backyard after a rockfall during Lent on March 8, he said. The Coeur d'Alene resident said he faced tough times after losing his job, and believed the rock was a sign. "I prayed between licking my wounds and looking for a job," he said. "We rarely get rockfalls and this formation is 20 feet from my house. It's definitely a symbol of the hand of God in my life." However, the winning bidder on eBay should not start clearing out his backyard. Grayhek is not planning to part with the formation. The buyer will "basically be buying the rights, complete and exclusive rights" to the rock, including literary and movie rights, according to Grayhek. Grayhek said he plans to use the money from the sale to pursue an unpaid internship in counseling when he graduates with a master's degree in social work in two years. "People think I'm some holier-than-thou person trying to get rich. I'm not," Grayhek said. "The purpose is to spread the story of God and eBay is just a vehicle." | Idaho man places "Hand of God" rock for sale on eBay .
Paul Grayhek says hand-like formation appeared in his backyard during Lent .
Winning bidder on eBay would get "exclusive rights" to rock . |
faf910c919442649fbd897ba5c8377a103949687 | Tornadoes in the United States are increasingly hitting in swarms rather than as isolated twisters, new figures reveal. The average number of twisters per year - around 500 - has not changed for decades. But now as many as 115 can strike in just one day, leaving more weeks tornado-free. And the pattern does not seem to be reverting. Scroll down for video . Shift: Clusters of tornadoes are hitting the United States as opposed to isolated twisters, a study showed . It means emergency services already struggling to deal with large-scale hits like Hurricane Katrina will have to dramatically step up their resources. The study released by US government meteorologists on Thursday charted the nation's tornado database from 1954 to 2013, excluding twisters with wind speeds below 112mph. It found that since 1970s, at least five days a year will see 20 or more tornadoes - more than double the average beforehand. In recent years, there were on average three days with more than 30 tornadoes, compared with just one day a year four decades ago. And on the list of the 10 single days with the most tornadoes since 1954, eight have occurred since 1999, including five since 2011. That year alone had days with 115, 73, 53 and 52 twisters. 'We need more resources … even if we don't use them very often,' Harold Brooks, an atmospheric scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) told Science. May is the month with the most tornado activity, followed by June and April. Although some weather experts have blamed climate change for the shift in patterns, the report does not stipulate a cause. 'Knowing that the climate now has changed from that of the 1970s makes for a circumstantial argument in favor of a changing climate playing at least some role in the tornado changes,' said meteorologist Patrick Marsh of NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. 'There are indications that heavy rainfall events are occurring with greater frequency globally, and given a warmer climate, this makes sense,' added Storm Prediction Center meteorologist Greg Carbin. Urgent: Experts warn emergency services must step up the level of resources to deal with natural disasters . But 'any trend in tornado events is much more difficult to discern,' Carbin added. 'The links in the chain connecting them aren't complete yet,' Brooks told Science. Records for both the most and fewest tornadoes over a 12-month period have come in the past five years, with 1,050 from June 2010 to May 2011 and 236 tornadoes from May 2012 to April 2013. Tornadoes, rapidly spinning columns of air usually spawned by rotating thunderstorms, can be among the most violent weather events. They have been reported on every continent except Antarctica but most often hit a U.S. region covering the Great Plains and parts of the Midwest and South. Tornadoes can cause extensive loss of life and property damage like the May 2011 twister in Joplin, Missouri, that killed about 160 people and wrecked thousands of homes. | Average number of twisters is the same but more are hitting at once .
Study by US government found three days a year see 30 or more .
Five days a year see over 20 - more than double the average before 1970 .
Experts warn emergency services must step up resources to handle crises . |
faf91f4a343f5e983a95b7fcaf8b3bf9ce75b2d6 | (CNN) -- Anuradha Koirala is fighting to prevent the trafficking and sexual exploitation of Nepal's women and girls. Since 1993, she and her group, Maiti Nepal, have helped rescue and rehabilitate more than 12,000 victims. Below are her thoughts on being chosen as a Top 10 CNN Hero. Q: Where were you when you got the call that you'd been selected as a Top 10 CNN Hero? Anuradha Koirala: The day I found out that I'd been selected as a Top 10 CNN Hero, I was in Delhi, India. I'd had meetings with Indian and Nepalese government officials, police officers and [nongovernmental organizations] that are partnering with us regarding rescue and repatriation of Nepali girls. I also went to meet Nepali girls at a government remand home in Delhi. We had four girls rescued last week, so I was talking to all the children. The police officers were very positive, but one lawyer was acting very "smart" [about not wanting the girls to return home to Nepal]. I said to him: "We are all working for the benefit of the children. So legal things are one part, but when there are girls, you have to send the girls back to their own country. That is all I want." So the whole morning and afternoon, I had been fighting. I was very excited and thankful to get the news. I have a big family, about 2,000 children and girls. This was a moment for us to cry, hug and remember how we started, what we have gained and where we are today. Q: What does it mean to you to have been selected by the Blue Ribbon Panel? Koirala: It means they have given priority to this heinous crime against humanity. We have to fight against this crime and protect the children from this. Q: What do you want people to know most about the importance of your work? Koirala: I would like to urge all the human beings around the world: Please close your eyes and imagine these girls are your daughters, and you will feel the pain of being trafficked. | Anuradha Koirala and her group, Maiti Nepal, have helped more than 12,000 escape sex slavery .
Koirala was chosen as a Top 10 CNN Hero for her efforts in Nepal .
Koirala: "We have to fight against this crime and protect the children from this" |
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