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From Pac Man to " Pretty in Pink , " Dungeons and Dragons to Devo , Rush to " School House Rock " : If this pop culture laundry list brings back fond memories , then do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Ernest Cline ' s new novel , " Ready Player One . " Packed with ' 80s nostalgia , it is part intergalactic scavenger hunt , part romance and all heart , a love letter to growing up geek . Described as " Willy Wonka meets the Matrix " the book takes place in a dystopian future . The year is 2044 and the real world is an ugly place . People escape their grim surroundings by accessing the , kind of like the Internet on steroids . Hidden somewhere deep inside this virtual utopia is the ultimate golden ticket , the key to unlimited fortune and power , but to find it , players will have to unlock an increasingly difficult series of pop culture puzzles . It ' s an addictive read . The book has become a best seller and a movie is in the works . " Ready Player One " came naturally to author Cline . He ' s a self described geek , a fan of video games , manga and Monty Python . He wrote the 2009 cult classic movie " Fan Boys , " an ode to obsessed " Star Wars " fans . How serious is Cline ' s geek cred ? He has spent the last few weeks driving cross country to promote his book in a souped up DeLorean . Cline ' s tricked out car incorporates elements from his favorite movie vehicles , including " Back to the Future , " " Knight Rider , " " Buckaroo Banzai " and " Ghostbusters . " He ' s even got an " 88 " personalized license plate . Cline : The initial idea for the story came to me way back in the summer of 2001 . I was working a technical support job at the time , helping people use computers and the Internet , and so I spent a lot of time thinking about the future of the Internet . I believed it might evolve into a sprawling virtual universe , sort of a cross between World of Warcraft and Facebook . When I start imagining what sort of person would create such a virtual world , I pictured a Willy Wonka esque video game designer holding a grand video game contest inside his virtual world , and the rest of the story grew out of that first idea . Cline : That ' s hard to say . I feel like I was hit by all of geek culture at once while I was growing up in the ' 70s and ' 80s . Saturday morning cartoons like " Star Blazers " and " Robotech . " Live action Japanese shows like " Ultraman " and " The Space Giants . " I spent most of my childhood welded to my Atari 2600 , until I got my first computer , a 80 . I grew up immersing myself in all of these things , and they informed my whole adolescence . Cline : It did , in a way , because I was writing about everything I love . It took me a long time to write this novel , and I maintained my interest in the project by filling the story with things I ' m passionate about . I was also being lazy , in a way , since I didn ' t have to do a lot of new research . Now , all of the geeking out I ' ve been doing my entire life can retroactively be classified as " research " for my novel . Cline : Yes , I wrote the first draft of the screenplay adaptation earlier this year , and that ' s what Warner Bros . is using to find the right director . They ' re very excited about the reception the book is receiving , so the movie could go into production as early as next year . Fingers crossed . Cline : It was a lot more frustrating , because I had to give up control of the story to get the movie made , and so the end product didn ' t turn out exactly the way I ' d hoped . That experience actually motivated me to finish " Ready Player One , " because I wanted to see what would happen if I was able to have total control of my story , with no filters between me and the audience . Cline : Well , I ' ve wanted to own a DeLorean since I was 10 years old , but it always seemed like a silly daydream . Like owning the " A Team " van or something . But once I sold my novel , it occurred to me that I could finally buy a DeLorean and us it to promote the book , since the protagonist drives one in the story . I could pose with the car in my author photo , then drive it across the country on my book tour , thus making it a business expense ! It ' s one of the best ideas I ' ve ever had . When I bought the car , I knew I wanted to trick it out like the DeLorean in the book , which combines elements from Doc Brown ' s Time Machine , from " Knight Rider , " the " Ghostbusters " Ecto 1 , and " Buckaroo Banzai ' s " Jet Car . So I went on the Internet and found a Flux Capacitor , an Oscillation Overthruster , and a wide array of Ghostbusting equipment , including a screen accurate Proton Pack ( which rides shotgun ) . Then I installed a blue scanner on the front of the car and got some personalized ECTO88 license plates . Then I took my time traveling , Knight Riding , Ghostbusting Jet Car out on the road . It was a big hit at every bookstore I stopped at on my tour . Get a guided tour of Cline ' s tricked out 1982 DeLorean . Cline : I have no choice but to agree . I wrote the geekiest novel in history and it ' s now been on The New York Times best seller list for several weeks . From my perspective , it definitely seems that the geeks have inherited the Earth . It ' s changed my whole life . Cline : Neal Stephenson ' s new novel , " Reamde . " I managed to snag an advance copy and I can ' t put it down . Mr Stephenson is one of my favorite writers . Cline : Well , I ' ve started working on an outline for a possible sequel to " Ready Player One . " But at the moment , I ' m working on a geeky coming of age movie set in the late ' 80s . Sort of my version of " Dazed and Confused , " but instead of sex , drugs and rock ' n ' roll , my characters are steeped in Dungeons and Dragons , arcade games and comic books . It ' s going to be the nerdiest coming of age movie ever made . Read an excerpt from " Ready Player One . "

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Dear Hospitalist , I ' ve been having chest pain for the past three weeks . I get it right in the middle of the chest , it ' s worse when I move around , but goes away when I sit down and take a few deep breaths . My Dad died of a heart attack when he was 48 . I just turned 45 . I ' m scared ! What should I do ? Concerned in Chattanooga Dear Concerned , Writing an organized note is the most important thing any hospitalist can do . The subjective reflects the patient ' s concerns you can even quote the patient here . The objective includes vital signs , exam findings , labs , and diagnostic tests , like interpretation of an or . Do not confuse the sections and do not make assessments here . In your assessment and plan , ask yourself how each problem is doing better , worse , or the same ? and how you plan to address each . Convey your thoughts well , I cannot stress this enough . I recommend an " other " section for things like prophylaxis , peripheral access , family contacts , and code status , so they ' re always in the back of your mind . Do not forget to date and time your note . This is absolutely crucial . Did you get a D Dimer ? Argh . I hope you have another 30min so I can explain what that means . Dear Hospitalist , I just returned from a two week trip to Uganda and yesterday noticed high grade fevers and weakness . Today the fever persists and I feel even worse . My wife thinks I have malaria but I got vaccinated and took the medications given by the doctor I saw in travel clinic . How would you approach this situation ? I feel like I should play it safe and head to the Emergency Room . Sickly in Sacramento Dear Sickly , You never really " clear " a patient when doing a preoperative evaluation for noncardiac surgery . The goal is to make an objective assessment of risk and make recommendations to best optimize a patient before surgery . It ' s up to the surgeon to use that information to properly inform the patient about risks , benefits , and alternatives . Many hospitalists want to defer to cardiology , but it ' s best to keep it simple . If surgery is emergent , that trumps all . If there are active cardiac issues , fix those first . If there are no cardiac issues and the surgery is low risk , then proceed to surgery . The Revised Cardiac Risk Index is a very useful tool if you need to quote risk as percentages . Dear Hospitalist , I ' m currently hospitalized for blood in my stool . I was found to have a diverticular bleed , but haven ' t required any blood transfusions . Yesterday , I developed swelling in my right leg and an ultrasound revealed a new . I feel like I ' m stuck between a rock and a hard place . If I start a blood thinner , I might bleed . But if I don ' t , I could develop a blood clot in my lungs ! Please help ! Fearful in Fargo Dear Fearful , The trick to effective is getting good depth with each compression and keeping a good rate , about 100 compressions per minute . The Bee Gees ' " Stayin ' Alive is a good reference point . Before you start compressions , make sure you ' ve verified code status . There ' s nothing more embarrassing than cracking an elderly lady ' s sternum when she was all along . If they truly are full code , be sure to lower the bed and place a backboard to maximize your leverage . Chest compressions done well are extremely tiring . Never hesitate to tag out . You can always help assess for pulse while you recover . Make sure you know your algorithms . Dr Abby Johnson is a hospitalist at Boston University . Her column , Ask a Hospitalist , appears in over 2 newspapers worldwide . Stay tuned ! Need some more advice ? Ask a 4th Year Med Student ( Who ' s Checked Out for the Year ) Ask a July 1st Medicine Intern Ask a Surgical Intern , Part 1 Ask a Surgical Intern , Part 2

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Hopes that a peace process might take hold in Ukraine this year were quickly dashed by the resumption of heavy fighting last week around Ukraine ' s Donetsk airport . Now , as the tenuous ceasefire observed over the holidays falls apart , the question is whether this latest violation of the Minsk ceasefire agreement is the beginning of a separatist offensive to claim more territory . It certainly looks that way . On January 13 , the leaders of Donetsk People ' s Republic ( ) , one of the two breakaway pro Russian enclaves in Ukraine ' s Donbass region , issued Ukrainian troops an ultimatum to surrender Donetsk airport . Since then , the long standing derelict control tower , subject to months of shelling , has finally collapsed and with it any likelihood that this conflict will stay frozen over the winter . The assault triggered a Ukrainian counterattack , and erupted into a full scale conflagration . Ukraine ' s defense ministry has said it has withdrawn from the main terminal at Donetsk airport , but it is doubtful that separatist forces only have that in their sights anyway . After all , although the site holds symbolic value for both sides , it is a hulking ruin and of little strategic relevance . And the leader of , Alexander Zakharchenko , has made clear he believes the borders of his breakaway republic should include the entire Donetsk region , which is double the current territory he controls . Such ambitions are not likely to be realized during the freezing cold of January , but separatist forces are now engaged in combat north of Luhansk and as far south as Mariupol . It is difficult to see Russia ' s army sitting out on the sidelines as all this unfolds , leaving the stage set for another battle between Ukrainian and Russian regular forces as Ukraine ' s leadership and army are put to the test again . True , the separatist force barely numbers 25 , 000 30 , 000 , and only a fraction of it is combat capable . But the timing of this latest operation is clearly aimed at fostering instability in Ukraine at a moment of economic weakness , rather than taking advantage of any newfound military opportunity . Ukraine ' s cash reserves fell to 7 . 5 billion in December , while the political leadership is desperately awaiting a new tranche of funding from the , without which Ukraine may soon go bankrupt . Meanwhile , Ukraine faces an incredibly difficult year due to contraction , inflation , currency devaluation , and anticipated fiscal austerity measures . Since much of its army depends on volunteer donations to survive in the field , prolonged fighting will create unbearable strain , on the people and the country . And despite Russia ' s economic woes , as well as the impact of Western sanctions , nothing seems to have visibly constrained Moscow ' s policies in Ukraine . In retrospect , it is clear Russia had no intention of starting this year with negotiations , rather than military action to change facts on the ground . Russian leaders are for their part trapped in a dilemma of their own making . They are unable to secure Russian influence in Ukraine through the current agreement , in a manner that relieves sanctions , and satisfies separatist desires for a viable independent territory . Ukraine ' s President Petro Poroshenko , of course also lacks domestic political support for a genuine compromise with Moscow , having created a coalition government with his political rival . However , it is Russia that struggles under sanctions and must find a way out of the current situation . And unfortunately , the only way out for Moscow seems to be war . For Russia , the Minsk agreement is a dead end . The fact is that it should be for the United States as well . Making Russia stick to this agreement , despite its uselessness in achieving any path to settlement in the conflict , is a negotiating position that is unrealistic and has run its course . The pressure of sanctions is insufficient to coerce Russia away from using force , meaning that instead of a diplomatic victory , the West is witnessing Ukraine cede more territory to the separatists . Another defeat will shake its political system as well . How should the West respond ? The U . S . has no good choices , only hard decisions to make . The first priority should be to negotiate a new ceasefire to end the bloodshed . If separatist goals are truly limited , it should not take long . Then , the Minsk agreement should be scrapped as a basis for settlement . That is far from Ukraine ' s first choice , but it is not in a position to expect best outcomes , especially when its army is in retreat . Meanwhile , the West needs to work with Russian and Ukrainian leaders to come up with new terms . The framework will look similar to Minsk , but sanctions and economic woes have undoubtedly created strategic clarity in Moscow about the need for this conflict to end this year . Plus , the latest fighting will change Kiev ' s perspective as well . If all this proves unsuccessful , then there is nothing to stop Western leaders from providing more weapons to Ukraine , or imposing new hardships on Russia . The latest fighting demonstrates the limits of what those policies might accomplish for Ukraine . Russia has not been brought to heel . It is time to try for a new peace settlement .

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Reuters) - Liberia will hold a delayed presidential run-off vote on Dec. 26, the electoral commission chief said on Tuesday. Former soccer star George Weah faces Vice-President Joseph Boakai in the poll that was held up for several weeks by a court challenge by the candidate who came third in round one. The winner replaces Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as president in what will be, if it goes smoothly, Liberia s first peaceful handover of power in 70 years. The Supreme Court last week dismissed a complaint from third-place finisher Charles Brumskine s Liberty Party, which had said fraud had undermined the first round in October. Electoral Commission chairman Jerome Korkoya said campaigning could start immediately but must end by December 24. Liberians are eager for change after Nobel Peace Prize winning Sirleaf s 12-year rule, which sealed a lasting peace in a country that for decades had only known war, but which has failed to tackle corruption or much improve the lot of the poorest.

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Copy this code to your website or blog Russian forensic experts warned Monday it could take weeks or months to conclusively determine whether a bomb downed a Metrojet plane in the Sinai peninsula ? the scenario cited by a growing number of officials . Sen . Diane Feinstein ? the vice chair of the U . S . Senate Select Committee on Intelligence ? told " Meet the Press " there was a " strong probability " that a bomb caused the Airbus A321 to crash on Oct . 31 shortly after takeoff from Egypt ' s Sharm el Sheikh airport . Her comments echoed previous statements from U . S . and U . K . officials about the likelihood explosives played a role in the crash ? though Egyptian authorities have pushed back and warned against jumping to conclusions . Samples of debris from the plane have been flown to Moscow for analysis . Russia ' s Novosti news agency reported Monday that forensic sources said a completed expert analysis could take three to seven days " minimum . " Another forensic source was cited as saying the report into what downed the plane would take much longer . " The tasks for experts are : are there traces of explosives on the debris , and if yes , which explosives ? " one source was quoted as saying . " A two week time frame is more realistic . " The source said the " complicated " circumstances ? a blast at high altitude ? would suggest multiple tests and checks also must be done to rule out any contamination of debris . " Such a study can take months , " the source was quoted as saying . Egyptian officials inspect the crash site on Nov . 1 . Anadolu Agency Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Egyptian investigators have said they are analyzing a " noise " heard in the final second of the Airbus A321 ' s data recording ? and some reports have suggested it could be the sound of an explosion . One working theory about the crash has been the possibility a bomb or explosives were smuggled into the plane ' s luggage hold . A source at Egypt ' s Ministry of Civil Aviation told News that security cameras from the departure lounge and runway did not show any suspicious personnel or luggage in the vicinity of the doomed plane .

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Ronnie O ' Sullivan has again voiced his disaffection with snooker , claiming he is just ' using ' the game and has not yet committed to entering next month ' s World Championship . The 39 year old , who has won the Championship , the Masters and the Crucible title five times each , has struggled for much of his career with the mental aspect of the game and the demands of the tour circuit . His achievements in recent years are outstanding , winning the 2013 World Championship having barely played all season and the 2014 Championship despite suffering with a fractured ankle . Ronnie O ' Sullivan claims that snooker does not offer the financial reward and security that it once did O ' Sullivan also said that he has contemplated not entering the snooker World Championship next month O Sullivan celebrates winning the 2014 Championship but hit out at the prize money on offer to players O ' Sullivan Into Last 16 But as this year ' s Crucible build up begins , his commitment is once more in question . ' Snooker is no longer what it once was for me . I just use snooker , rather than letting it use me , ' he told the Guardian . ' I know it sounds crazy but I wasn ' t even sure if I was going to enter the worlds . I probably will but it ' s got to the point where I want to give snooker only 20 per cent of my time . ' It ' s not something I ' m that bothered about . It ' s probably one of my least favourite tournaments . Seventeen days is too long . ' But as a kid , I dreamed of being world champion . ( Then ) I thought if I can win three or four , that would be great . Three ? You ' re getting to be a great player . Four ? You ' re on a level with John Higgins , who is a master of the game . So I ' m really happy to have won it five times . ' It is a familiar refrain from O ' Sullivan . He threatened not to take up his place in the 2014 Masters , polling his Twitter followers for advice only to announce his entry around an hour later . The switch in the world rankings format , from points to a money list , played into O ' Sullivan ' s hands by allowing him to ' play the system ' as he put it in 2013 by focusing on the more lucrative tournaments . O ' Sullivan claimed the World Championship tournament is one of his least favourite events due to its length O ' Sullivan has won the World Championship five times already in a highly decorated career But he remains unhappy and even said he cannot achieve financial security through snooker ' s ' s ' prize money an extraordinary claim even for O ' Sullivan , especially as he has already noted : ' I could get by the rest of my life if I never worked again . ' He said : ' If you go back five or 10 years I used to get good sponsorship for my logos . I was on 350 , 000 even before I hit a ball . Now there is no money in snooker . The top players are suffering now . ' I don ' t want it to come across as if I ' m doing this for money . I just want what ' s fair . They can say ' you ' re getting this amount of prize money ' . But if you ' re a top player it ' s f s . I want my security , and snooker isn ' t going to give me that security . '

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Sandra Bland grew up expressing her faith and social activism is honoring the young woman whose life was tragically cut short . The DuPage African Methodist Church is renaming its annual diversity institute this year in honor of the 28 year old woman who grew up in the Lisle church . . . The place where Sandra Bland grew up expressing her faith and social activism is honoring the young woman whose life was tragically cut short . The DuPage African Methodist Church is renaming its annual diversity institute this year in honor of the 28 year old woman who grew up in the Lisle church . . . Bland , 28 , who was African American , was found dead in her jail cell three days after Encinia arrested her July 10 during a routine traffic stop about 55 miles west of Houston . Her death was ruled a suicide . The family has questioned that finding and was not happy with the outcome of the case involving Encina . A perjury charge isn t justice , Shante Needham , Bland s sister , said Wednesday . It s insulting . If he was going to be charged with anything it should have been assault , falsifying a police report or abusing his power as an officer of the law . They gave him the least charge of all . That s not good enough . My sister is not here anymore . The charge is not acceptable for my family . The family s attorney criticized the time it took for the grand jury to make a decision in Bland s case . Texas trooper charged with perjury in arrest of Sandra Bland Texas trooper charged with perjury in arrest of Sandra Bland . Jan . 6 , 2016 . ( ) Texas trooper charged with perjury in arrest of Sandra Bland . Jan . 6 , 2016 . ( ) I scratch my head over why it took six months to indict him , said Cannon Lambert , who is representing the family in a civil wrongful death lawsuit . I am confused and dismayed over why he wasn t charged with assault or battery . He grabbed her from the car . He said he was going to light her up with a Taser and then assaulted her . Encinia pulled Bland over for making an improper lane change near the university s entrance . The confrontation that ensued , which led to Bland s arrest on suspicion of assaulting Encinia , was captured on a dash camera video that went viral . Bland was taken to the Waller County jail in nearby Hempstead where she was unable to make 500 bail . Officials said hanged herself with a plastic bag . Black Lives Matter supporters , like Bland s family , have questioned why she had been arrested at all , with some questioning whether she had taken her own life . At the time Bland was stopped , she had just accepted a job at her alma mater , Prairie View A M University . What happened to Sandra Bland ? Videos trace her path from traffic stop to jail What happened to Sandra Bland ? ? Videos trace her path from traffic stop to jail . ? What happened to Sandra Bland ? ? Videos trace her path from traffic stop to jail . ? The grand jury s indictment came after it decided last month that no felony was committed by the Waller County sheriff ' s office or jailers in connection with Bland s death . We want someone held accountable , Lambert said . Encinia s being held accountable for a little bit but not for all that he did . So it s hard to feel satisfied in this situation . Ultimately , he acted out of line , Needham said . He abused his authority as an officer . If you look at the tape it says it all . A representative for Encinia could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday .

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Team spirit at was once so bad that Bobby Zamora wished that he could skip training and fast forward to match day . Zamora , who joined the club in January 2012 and was plunged straight into a relegation dog fight , says that the rifts in the squad then were so deep that he would have gladly missed the weekdays because of the animosity in the team . ' For myself , it was more a case of just wishing at times that you didn ' t have to go training for a week and could just turn up for a Saturday , ' said Zamora . ' Because when game time comes everyone is fighting for the same cause . Two seasons ago , during the week sometimes tempers could flare . ' Team spirit at was once so bad that Bobby Zamora wished that he could skip training sessions Recalling the negativity of 2012 and 2013 , when were a team characterised by their lack of fight , serves a purpose . For , though bottom of the table now with four points , with Liverpool coming to Loftus Road today and with manager Harry Redknapp under pressure , Zamora has some perspective . Bad though it may seem , things were infinitely worse then . Ironically , in 2011 12 , despite the rancour stayed up . However , the following season , with an equally bad atmosphere in the dressing room , they were relegated , with Redknapp overseeing only the latter half of the season before guiding the club back to the Premier League last May . ' Two and half seasons ago we stayed up with all that , ' said Zamora . ' And this season we ' re in a better position all round : the club , the players , the squad . And there are 31 games to go there is plenty of time to get out of this . ' The club has come on in terms of the squad , the management , the facilities , the training pitches . All aspects of the club are a lot better than two and half years ago . There are only four or five lads left from that time and there has been a big turnaround . There is a good togetherness . The lads all get on now . Rio Ferdinand has come and he has been impressed at how the lads are together . He was at Manchester United a long time and he can ' t believe the togetherness of the lads and the spirit . ' That said , Ferdinand and the new signings such as Eduardo Vargas , Mauricio Isla , Niko Kranjcar , Steven Caulker , Sandro and Leroy Fer will have to start delivering victories soon . spent significantly again in the summer despite the financial issues at the club . The latest financial results show a loss of 65 . 7million for the last season in the Premier League , on a turnover of 60m figures that are unlikely to improve after a season spent in the Championship . Striker Zamora has played six of ' s opening games back in the Premier League this season The fine for breaching the Football League ' s Financial Fair Play rules could be as much as 40m when the new figures are revealed and the Football League are threatening to relegate the club to Football Conference if they are relegated and fail to pay it . With the planned new 40 , 000 stadium in Old Oak being opposed by the current landowner , these are unsettling times at Loftus Road . Having Les Ferdinand seated alongside owner Tony Fernandes today as the newly installed Head of Football Operations does not help calm matters . Though Ferdinand was appointed by Redknapp as a coach at Tottenham , he is these days more associated with his last boss , Tim Sherwood , who along with Tony Pulis , would be a candidate to replace Redknapp . Redknapp has been unfortunate in that key signing Jordan Mutch is injured as is captain Joey Barton while Sandro is struggling for fitness . But losing Loic Remy on the eve of transfer deadline day to a well advertised buy out clause was less of a shock . Failing to support Zamora and Charlie Austen up front has been the obvious huge omission from the summer spending . Manager Harry Redknapp pictured with Les Ferdinand has a fight to keep the club in the top flight The only possible solution for all concerned is simply to stay up this season to avoid the multitude of looming issues . And Zamora insists it is far too early to be concerned and that the players are behind Redknapp . ' Harry has a wealth of experience . He ' s seen it all : relegations , promotions , finals , ' said Zamora . ' It really is crazy there is speculation with so many games to go . You can win two games and you ' re right back up there . ' ' We don ' t talk about the speculation at the minute because it ' s so early . You literally just need a couple of wins . Although they are tough games they can be won . He brought most of us in . Harry has supported us and wanted us here . Everyone is behind him and now we have just got to do our part on match day . ' face Liverpool , Chelsea and Manchester City in the next three weeks though you would imagine that the results against Aston Villa ( home ) , Newcastle ( away ) and Leicester ( home ) are more likely to define Redknapp ' s future . Zamora puts on a good positive front . ' Catch me in four or five months to have this conversation , ' he says . ' We ' ll have plenty of points on the board then , I ' m sure . The spirit is there . '

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Fri , 15 Jan 2016 11 : 56am , Los Angeles , Reuters The Force fails to get new ' Star Wars ' movie into top Oscars race Star Wars : The Force Awakens , may be the third biggest film ever at the global box office , but it failed to nab a best picture Oscar nomination on Thursday . The seventh installment of the space adventure saga created by George Lucas did get five nominations , but they were limited to original score and technical categories like visual effects and editing . Just a month after its release , The Force Awakens has taken 1 . 76 billion at the world box office , according to movie studio Walt Disney , which brought the franchise in 2012 for 4 billion . The film is on course to challenge 1997 romance Titanic ' s 2 . 18 billion haul to become the second most successful movie of all time . But popularity has rarely been a recipe for Oscar success . The 6 , 000 or so voters who make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have traditionally disdained big action adventure movies in favour of smaller art house fare such as The Artist , Birdman , and The King ' s Speech when choosing the best picture . Since 1990 , only the 2003 fantasy epic Lord of the Rings The Return of the Kings snapped that trend to win the top Oscar honour , although Avatar , still the biggest box office movie of all time , received a best picture nomination in 2009 . The Force Awakens , however , won almost universal praise from critics , and hopes were high that it might find a place in the best picture race this year . Yet on Thursday , Academy voters preferred action adventure Mad Max : Fury Road , giving it a best picture nod and nominations in nine other categories . OscarsSoWhite : Oscar 2016 slammed for being ' too white ' again The first Star Wars film , released in 1977 , is the only one in the franchise to receive a best picture Oscar nomination , although it lost out that year to Annie Hall . The handful of Academy Award honours for the previous six Star Wars movies have been in technical categories .

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Oscar nominations often lead to boost in movie revenues Winning an Oscar , or even just being nominated for one , is about much more than just reaping Hollywood bragging rights . It s about collecting a lot of extra cash . Numerous studies support the idea of an Oscar bump ? that getting an Academy Award , or even being a nominee , significantly boosts a film s bottom line . It could be good news for Wednesday s Oscar nominees with Boston ties : Spotlight , which focuses on the Globe s coverage of the clergy sex abuse scandal The Martian , which features Cambridge native Matt Damon and Joy , a Jennifer Lawrence movie filmed in the Boston area . Here s an overview of what studies have found in recent years : Nominations can be worth tens of millions of dollars Research firm IBISWorld analyzed data from 2006 through 2010 , and found that the average best picture Oscar winners saw a bump of 22 . 2 percent , or 20 . 3 million in box office revenue after being nominated . The movies received another 15 . 3 percent , or 14 million , boost after winning an Oscar . In a more recent analysis , IBISWorld found that movies nominated for best picture between 2008 and 2012 had an average budget of 56 . 9 million and an average box sales of 127 . 7 million , or 55 . 7 percent , profit . Small budget films tend to get the biggest boost The research company also found that low budget films typically receive a much larger payoff proportionally when they are nominated for or win an Oscar . For example , after the 2012 film Silver Linings Playbook was nominated for the 85th Academy Awards , the number of theaters screening the movie more than tripled , according to IBISWorld . Although the film was in theaters for more than six months , over half its ticket sales were made in the six weeks between its nomination and the Academy Awards ceremony . That movie made 236 . 4 million worldwide , or more than 11 times the 21 million it cost to make the film . Another study published in 1999 by the Stern School of Business at New York University found that movies that debut on 10 or fewer screens can expect an Oscar nomination bump that would boost sales by about 250 percent , while movies that open on more than 10 screens can expect a 30 percent boost . A 2001 study , authored by several finance and economics experts entitled What s an Oscar Worth ? found that a nomination or award for the top prizes , such as best picture and best actress actor , generally has a positive impact on a film s probability of survival in theaters , its market share of screens , and the average revenue per screen . However , a nomination or award for lesser prizes , such as best supporting actor actress , has little if any impact on these variables . Edmund Helmer , a data analyst at Facebook and founder of the film industry statistics blog BoxOfficeQuant , looked at Academy Awards data for 2000 through 2009 , and also found noticeable differences in the average Oscar bump depending on the award category . Release dates can impact the effect of the boost The What s an Oscar Worth ? study found support for the common industry practice of delaying a film s release until late in the year to enhance the probability of receiving a nomination and the resulting financial awards . The researchers said that the predicted payoff for a nomination for best picture increased from about 673 , 000 to about 7 . 8 million , as a result of delaying the theatrical release of the movie from the first to fourth quarter of the year , and a similar difference was also seen for best picture winning films , though on a larger scale . The Golden Globes may offer their own bump Helmer , in another analysis published in 2013 , found that , over the preceding 12 years , a Golden Globe win led to a box office boost of about 14 . 2 million , on average , which was significantly more than the average boost of about 3 million for an Academy Award win . The reason may have to do with the timing of the Golden Globes , which come before the Academy Awards at the beginning of each year , he said . The cause isn t certain , but there are two possibilities . The first is simply that , because Golden Globes occur earlier in the lifetime of the films they award , the impact of a Globe award is magnified , Helmer wrote . The second is that Golden Globes are in fact trial runs for the Oscar race , and films that get a nod in these trials end up getting massive free press as potential Oscar contenders . Matt Rocheleau can be reached at matthew . rocheleau globeweblink . Follow him on Twitter mrochele Get Today s Headlines from the Globe in your inbox :

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Missouri Michael and Steven Roberts didn ' t have two quarters to rub together a couple of decades ago . Now , the two African American business leaders estimate their holdings from hotels to stations are worth 1 billion . One St . Louis hotel they own once barred black people . Steven Roberts , left , and his brother , Michael , own a St . Louis theater that once segregated African Americans . " Black folks need legacy . We have to have examples of successes in order for us to be able to let the generations to come know that many of the successes that occurred by African Americans in this country can be seen and pointed out and can be emulated , " says Michael Roberts , the chairman and of The Roberts Companies . Michael and his brother Steven , who is three years younger , stroll through their office , complete with wood paneled doors , large leather chairs and a pool table fit for a king . Their office sits along a busy street in St . Louis called Kingshighway . " They used to call us the Kings of Kingshighway , because we own so much on this street , " Michael Roberts says . Their office is the culmination of hard work and a can do American business attitude to strive for greatness . They launched their business from a historically black neighborhood in north St . Louis . Roberts brothers share secrets of their success From a one room office , they created an empire now made up of 76 companies and 1 , 100 employees , many of them minorities . They own commercial real estate , stations , hotels , telecommunication companies and more . The name Roberts adorns all their properties . " We weren ' t rich . We weren ' t poor , but we just never had any money , " Michael says of their upbringing . They like to tell their story , encouraging people with new ideas to chase their dreams . If you don ' t have money , they say , don ' t let that stop you . " We tell folks , learn it , get your hands dirty you know , a little sweat equity , " says Steven Roberts , the president of The Roberts Companies . " For that college student , for that future entrepreneur . . . we ' re saying understand what your passion is , and understand what your product is , too . " Michael Roberts chuckles . He notes that his younger brother has always been good at " putting the meat on the bone . " He says he likes to tell youths and college students : " What would your life be like if you could eliminate the fear of failure , and where would you be at this point in life ? " There will be times , he says , when you will stumble , but don ' t let those hiccups get you down . " If you eliminate the fear of failure and if you use every moment to its fullest extent a very existential concept then you are able to take your ideas , your dreams , your aspirations , and you can pursue them with courage and confidence and bravado . " What are the challenges for black entrepreneurs , businesses ? The brothers operate on a simple business philosophy : You diversify or die . And they don ' t believe in a full retirement . " What other animal retires ? " Michael Roberts says . " If a lion retires today , tomorrow morning he becomes his brother ' s breakfast . " They point to their father as exhibit A . At 86 , he still comes to the office that his sons named after him , the Victor Roberts Building , a large complex complete with restaurants and retail stores . He worked 39 years in the Postal Service before retiring in the 1980s . He now keeps a keen eye on his now grown boys . He refuses a paycheck . " I suggest anyone who has a father , " Michael says with a laugh , " please hire them , because you can get them for free . " The two brothers also have served in public office , elected to the St . Louis Board of Alderman in the late 1970s . They recently walked through The Roberts Orpheum Theatre in downtown St . Louis . It symbolizes their quest for a legacy . Decades ago , their mother and other black people were only allowed to sit in the highest balcony . Now , the brothers own the theater . They stood on the stage and scanned the empty seats . Again , they laughed . " Mom can sit wherever she likes , " Michael Roberts said .

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By Amanda Froelich The rock legend’s latest song, Indian Givers, is about the pipeline and seeks to raise awareness about the Native water protectors in North Dakota. Since Donald Trump won the...

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Heather Briggins , from Parma Heights , recently was admitted to St . Joe ' s in labor at 39 weeks . She quickly handed her 3 ring bound birth plan book to staff . " Glitter got all over me , " said labor and delivery nurse Shannon Keyes . The cover consisted of a scrap book with a picture of Heather and her husband standing behind her , making a heart with his hands over Heather ' s pregnant abdomen . " After the well decorated cover was page after page of very organized well thought out plans , " Shannon continued . The first few pages contained very typical first time mother wishes : what music they wanted , who they wanted in the room , etc . Although page 15 stood out to Dr Flecher , the obstetrician on call . " She started to describe what she wanted to happen if she or the baby turned into a zombie , " Dr Flecher said pointing at an article . " I ' ve seen some ridiculous birth plans , but this was a first for me . " From the birth plan : " 24 . 2 If I were turned into a zombie I would want to still pursue a natural child birth unless there was undisputed scientific evidence that whatever caused the zombie apocalypse could transfer into my child . In such case , I would like my child removed immediately by whatever means necessary . " The birth plan goes on to describe what to do if the child is a zombie and Heather remains human : " 24 . 7 In such case where I am immune to the zombie pathogen but my child is not and has been verified by ultrasound to be a zombie , I would still like to continue my natural child birth as stated in 3 . 3 . " She does state that after she gives birth to her zombie child she would like to cancel the skin to skin contact and breastfeeding until a cure is found . " 24 . 11 In such case where we both become zombies , do what has to be done . "

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? Ken Starr would probably like a word , ma am Another day , another poll that shows Donald Trump with a double digit lead in the field . But in the past week , there s been a change in the discussion on the side . This week s Edge , a one of a kind measurement of media mentions from the New Analytics Company , shows that after a long drought , New Jersey Gov . Chris Christie is making it rain . The Edge scrubs television , radio , print , internet and social media for mentions of the 2016 candidates . The team at New Analytics has built unique tool to measure which candidates are being talked about the most and the data are compiled into a single score and provided to Fox News First . Christie had the largest single increase in media mentions of any candidate in the past week as domestic and international terror attacks dominated the press . Aside from playing up his anti terrorism bona fides from his tenure as a federal prosecutor in post 9 11 New Jersey , Christie has had good campaign news to tout as well . Christie landed some key endorsements in his must win New Hampshire primary campaign , including the state s largest newspaper . Here are their rankings for media mentions this week , with their decline from last week in brackets . You can view the full results here . Donald Trump , 25 . 51 2 . 47 Ben Carson , 14 . 33 . 22 Jeb Bush , ? 11 . 48 . 25 Ted Cruz , 9 . 71 . 57 Marco Rubio , 9 . 04 . 12 Chris Christie , 6 . 50 1 . 89 Carly Fiorina , 5 . 5 . 24 Mike Huckabee , 5 . 29 . 28 John Kasich , 4 . 68 1 . 14 Rand Paul , 4 . 56 . 56 Christie : Iran a greater threat than The Atlantic s Jeffery Goldberg talks with Gov . Chris Christie and observes the New Jersey governor has done some serious homework on foreign policy , but holds the arguable opinion that Iran is a greater threat than . If you re prioritizing the threats , which a president has to do , then I think that Iran is a greater threat than . He went on to explain , I believe Iran is moving toward obtaining a nuclear weapon . I have no proof at this point that is moving toward obtaining weapons of mass destruction . Christie may have won the Union Leader endorsement , but respected columnist Drew Cline makes a stout case for Marco Rubio . Totally retro , man In honor of 100 years of being the first in the nation primary , New Hampshire s secretary of state is using the original font for the centennial version . Oy The Hill : The Anti Defamation League ( ) on Thursday defended Donald Trump after the front runner s freewheeling speech before a group of Jewish Republicans drew criticism Trump , a billionaire real estate tycoon , ? garnered attention ? on Thursday for his remarks in a speech before the Republican Jewish Coalition ( ) , an audience addressed by several other candidates . The celebrity businessman appeared to touch on several Jewish stereotypes in his speech , including about being a good negotiator and having a tough business personality This room negotiates a lot . This room perhaps more than any room I ve ever spoken to . Trump instructed his medical physician to release his medical records , which he claims will show perfection . Power Play : ? Electability tests Donald Trump leads ? the ? field ? but there are concerns about his electability . Republican strategist Mike Shields and MoveOn . org s Ben Wikler join Chris Stirewalt to discuss the implications of Trump at the top of the ticket . Cruz , Rubio impress Pocket silk aficionado David Drucker says Sens . Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio wowed the crowd at the event : During a full day of speeches from more than a dozen contenders , all received an energetic reception from the 700 members in the audience at the Ronald Reagan Building a few blocks from the White House . But it was Cruz and Rubio who made an impression Cruz for the ideological fervor underpinning his foreign policy Rubio for a detailed address that touched the key pressure points important the national security hawks that dominate the ' s membership . Jeb treats donors to art show Miami Herald : Republican Jeb Bush , who lives in Coral Gables , is the only one planning an art themed affair Saturday ? Pop Art , Politics Jeb ? organized by friend and Miami celeb artist Romero Britto , complete with a custom made Britto portrait of the candidate with a background of white stars and blue and red stripes . When asked on Special Report with Bret Baier if he thought Trump could carry Florida as the nominee , Bush was , um , skeptical . Huckabee boosts ethanol Former Arkansas Gov . Mike Huckabee has an op ed in the focused on his support for federal regulations that require the use of ethanol in gasoline : Enough hypocrisy . Republicans cannot attack Obama for punishing farmers , and then support job killing regulations or double standards that hurt corn growers . Can Carson come back ? Mr Sunday talks with Ben Carson amid his falling poll numbers . Also on the docket , Rep . Michael McCaul , R Texas , chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee , talks terrorism in wake of recent turmoil both at home and abroad . Watch Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace at 2 p . m . and 6 p . m . on the Fox News Channel . ? Check local listings ? for broadcast times in your area . What would rock roll be without Led Zeppelin ? That was the question music lovers confronted on this day in 1980 . The late 1970s hadn t been a very happy times for lovers of real rock . The ubiquity of disco music had many music lovers feeling defeated ( if not riotous ) . But there was still hope in the form of Zeppelin , the dominant act of the era , which fused hard rock and Delta blues into some of best songs ever recorded . The quality of their product wasn t what it had been a decade before , but Zeppelin could surely still rock . When drummer John Bonham died of drunkenness in September of 1980 , however , the band dropped its studio album and cancelled its planned U . S . tour . The loss of Bonham , the powerhouse who defined the band s sound , proved too much . Thirty five years ago today , the surviving members of the band announced their breakup in a letter to fans saying we could not continue as we were . Obama Job Approval : Approve ? ? 44 . 1 percent Disapprove ? 51 . 0 percent Directions of Country : Right Direction ? ? 28 . 4 percent Wrong Track ? 63 . 0 percent

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Rolling Stone ) It didn ' t take long for everyone involved in the Rebecca Black story to start squabbling . Black whose song " Friday " hit Number 38 on Billboard ' s digital singles chart this week and her mother , Georgina Marquez Kelly , are accusing Ark Music Factory , which produced " Friday , " of copyright infringement and unlawful exploitation of publicity rights . A March 29 letter from Black and Marquez Kelly ' s lawyer Brian Schall to Ark Music Factory obtained by Rolling Stone alleges that Ark has failed to provide Black with the master recordings of her song and video has been exploiting her likeness and her song on YouTube , iTunes , Amazon and Ark ' s website created an unauthorized " Friday " ringtone and has been advertising Black as an exclusive Ark recording artist on its website . Rob Sheffield : Why Rebecca Black is a Demon Wizard Child Piper In an interview with Rolling Stone , Ark Music Factory founder Patrice Wilson denied most of the allegations in the letter . " I have met with Rebecca Black ' s mom and everything is fine , " he said . " She will get the masters and the song . They can have it all . " Marquez Kelly paid Ark 4 , 000 ( not 2 , 000 , as has been widely reported ) to produce the song , and according to Schall ' s letter , the agreement that she signed with Ark in November stipulates that Black has 100 percent ownership and control of " Friday , " including the master recording and the music video . Black shot the video for " Friday " in January , and the Ark team finished it a few weeks later . It was uploaded to YouTube on February 10 , but it only had around 4 , 000 views until it was posted on comedian Daniel Tosh ' s " Tosh . O " Comedy Central blog on March 11 , and comedian Michael J . Nelson tweeted about it . Overnight , it had gotten over 200 , 000 views , and by March 15 , it had over 5 million views on YouTube . And after her " Good Morning America " appearance on March 18 , she had evolved from a meme to a celebrity . What You Need to Know About Teen Viral Phenom Rebecca Black " She ' s not our exclusive artist , " said Wilson . " Once an artist meets with us and once they blow up , they have a choice to retain us or move on if they can . Rebecca is now signed with someone else . " Wilson added that he will remove Black from the Ark Music Factory website . But Ark ' s lawyer , Barry Rothman , cast doubt on the validity of the November agreement . " The agreement was not court approved , " Rothman said . " They say they own the composition . Nothing could be further from the truth . If they go forward and license it or attempt to copyright it in their name , that would be copyright infringement and we ' d act accordingly under the circumstances . " He added : " We ' re not prepared to engage them in producing documents just because they want them , without a court order or litigation . We ' d like to see Rebecca Black ' s career go forward and we ' re trying to accomplish that in the context of working through the legalities . " Wilson ' s Ark Music Factory partner Clarence Jey contended that Ark did act as a record label for Black , and distributed and promoted her with her mother ' s consent until it became clear that Black was going to make actual money . " Now they are turning it around and saying they were exploited , but clearly that is not the case when they were thanking me for forwarding them all the interviews with Rebecca and all the positive comments from YouTube , " said Jey . " I was calling Australia on my cell phone pretending to be Rebecca ' s agent and setting up radio interviews for Rebecca while Georgina was right next to me . If she thought I was exploiting this , she could have said it . " Why Rebecca Black ' s Much Mocked Viral Hit ' Friday ' is Actually Good " Georgina ' s trying to get the rights to things she doesn ' t have the rights to , " said Ark Creative Director Barry Wayne . Neither Marquez Kelly nor Schall returned calls for comment . Black is the first real success to come out of the Los Angeles based Ark , whose website was registered in August 2010 by Wilson . Ark ' s biggest successes other than Black are the singer Alana Lee Hamilton ' s " Butterflies , " which has close to 6 million YouTube views , and Kaya Rosenthal ' s " Can ' t Get You Out of My Mind , " which has 1 . 7 million YouTube views . " Suddenly , everyone is seeing big dollars and everyone is getting greedy and it sucks , " said Jey , who claims that his team wrote the music and lyrics to " Friday . " " My team just needs to be looked after to some extent . They need to be compensated for something . " He argued that Black should own the master recording for her vocals , but that Ark should have copyright for the song and composition . " We gave Rebecca 10 percent of the publishing , but she didn ' t even write a lyric . " Good Morning America " came over , I paid 400 for the make up artist and no one even thanked me for that . " And now it seems as though Ark ' s success may be its undoing . Wilson recently hired his own lawyer , and Jey alleges that Wilson won ' t give him access to the website . " Yesterday we were supposed to have a meeting at my attorney ' s place . I didn ' t hear from him all day . He sent me a text message late at night saying , ' Sorry , brother , I ' ve had a busy day . ' In the meantime he ' s going around saying I ' m not with Ark . " Copyright 2011 Rolling Stone .

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Los Angeles announced Tuesday the new retirement homes for the four remaining space shuttles three historic orbiters and the program ' s test vehicle . The space shuttle Atlantis will be displayed at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida the Endeavour , at the California Science Center in Los Angeles the Discovery , at the Smithsonian ' s National Air and Space Museum Steven F . Udvar Hazy Center in Virginia and the test shuttle , Enterprise , at the Intrepid Sea , Air Space Museum in New York , Administrator Charles F . Bolden Jr . said during a ceremony at the Kennedy Center . The announcement was made on the 30th anniversary of the space shuttle program ' s first flight , made by the subsequently ill fated Columbia orbiter , and the 50th anniversary of Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becoming the first human in space . More than 20 locations around the country sought one of the orbiters because of the potential tourist draw . The drama mirrored the bidding to host an Olympic games . Supporters of sites that were rejected expressed disappointment . U . S . Sen . John Cornyn , R Texas , said the Johnson Space Center in Houston should have been one of the retirement homes for an orbiter , " but it is clear political favors trumped common sense and fairness in the selection of the final locations for the orbiter fleet , " he said in a statement . He noted that Houston " played a critical role throughout the life of the space shuttle . " " Like many Texans , I am disappointed with ' s decision to slight the Johnson Space Center as a permanent home for one of the space shuttle orbiters , " Cornyn said . " There is no question Houston should have been selected as a final home for one of the orbiters even Administrator Bolden stated as much . Today ' s announcement is an affront to the thousands of dedicated men and women at Johnson Space Center , the greater Houston community and the state of Texas , and I ' m deeply disappointed with the administration ' s misguided decision , " Cornyn said . In Los Angeles , shortly after ' s announcement , California Science Center President Jeffrey Rudolph told reporters that the Endeavour would boost the center ' s annual 1 . 4 million visitors to about 2 million people a year . The center plans to use the orbiter as the centerpiece to a new air and space gallery , which would cost 200 million and is part of the center ' s 25 year master plan , Rudolph said . That price tag includes the 28 . 8 million that the center must pay to prepare and relocate the orbiter to Los Angeles , he said . The center hasn ' t hired an architect yet to design the new facility and is now planning a fundraiser , he said . " Obviously , we were thrilled . We got the word this morning , shortly before the announcement , " Rudolph said of his reaction to winning one of the shuttles . " The fact that the shuttle was created here in California had a lot to do with giving us a leg up " over the competition , Rudolph said . " It ' s a fitting place for this national treasure . " The center , which also features a Los Angeles charter school , is the most attended museum in southern California and one of the most attended in the country , Rudolph said . The Los Angeles center ' s existing air and space gallery is now home to the Mercury Redstone 2 capsule that carried Ham , a chimpanzee , on a suborbital flight , and the Gemini 11 capsule flown by astronauts Pete Conrad and Dick Gordon on an orbital flight . U . S . Sen . Barbara Boxer said she and Sen . Dianne Feinstein both California Democrats wrote to ' s Bolden last year asking that California become home to one of the shuttles because the state has a long history with the shuttle program . Beginning in 1972 , all five space shuttle orbiters were fabricated in Downey , California , and assembled in Palmdale , California , Boxer said in a statement . All of the space shuttles were tested at Edwards Air Force Base just outside of Palmdale , where 53 of ' s 133 shuttle missions landed , she said . The Endeavour will take its final flight on April 29 , and prior to this launch , it will have been used on 24 missions , orbited the earth 4 , 429 times and traveled 103 , 149 , 636 miles , Boxer said . " California has a long history of supporting the shuttle program and we are proud to welcome this inspiring symbol of American scientific achievement and ingenuity to the Golden State , " Boxer said in a statement . Audience members at the Kennedy Space Center cheered when Bolden announced the Atlantis would be assigned to that launch facility . Many people in the gallery were center workers , some of whom are likely to lose their jobs when the shuttle program ends . Because the announcement was being made at Kennedy , expectations were high that the visitor center would be awarded one of the shuttles . The Museum of Flight in Seattle also wanted one . In fact , one wall of a new space gallery where a shuttle would be housed was already erected in anticipation . Prior to Tuesday ' s announcement , the museum ' s president , Doug King , said museum officials didn ' t have any inside information . " I think that confident may be too strong a word . I think that hopeful is probably a better one , " he said . But on Tuesday , Washington state Gov . Chris Gregoire also said he was disappointed that the didn ' t select the Seattle museum for one of the retired shuttles . " The Museum of Flight put a tremendous amount of effort into landing a retired shuttle in the Pacific Northwest . As the home of modern day air travel and the 747 , which has gracefully transported shuttles for the last 30 years , Seattle would have been a perfect fit , " Gregoire said in a statement . " However , the full fuselage trainer , that every astronaut including Bonnie Dunbar has been trained on , will soon call the Museum of Flight home , " the governor said . " The largest of the trainers , this addition will allow visitors to actually climb aboard the trainer and experience the hands on training that astronauts get . Visitors will not be allowed in the other shuttles and this trainer is a true win for our dynamic museum . " Facilities in Chicago , New York , Dayton , Ohio , and Tulsa , Oklahoma , also put in requests for an orbiter , with hopes that such a historic artifact would inspire countless children in those areas to explore careers in science and engineering . Becoming home to an orbiter promises to be a boon for a community . The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex estimates a shuttle will bring in 200 , 000 more guests every year . The economic impact to the area is estimated at about 15 million . Each winning location has to fork over 28 . 8 million to for delivery of the vehicles . They also must guarantee a climate controlled building will be constructed to house their shuttle . That ' s still a bargain , officials at the bidding locations said , because of the return on investment they expect . One of the orbiters Discovery , the oldest was largely regarded as being Smithsonian bound . That was confirmed by Tuesday ' s announcement . The Enterprise , a test shuttle that never flew in space , is there now . It was be reassigned , at a discounted price , to one of the locations that didn ' t get either Endeavour or Atlantis . That location turned out to be the Intrepid Sea , Air Space Museum in New York . Only two more shuttle flights are scheduled : Endeavour on April 29 and Atlantis on June 28 , wrapping up a program in which the vehicles launched satellites , built a space station , and launched and repaired an orbiting telescope . After that , they become museum pieces . Two other shuttles were destroyed in flight accidents . The Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff on January 28 , 1986 , and the Columbia disintegrated during re entry on February 1 , 2003 .

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OSLO/ (Reuters) - All eight people on board a missing helicopter off the coast of Svalbard are Russians, the Russian Emergency Ministry told Reuters on Thursday. Rescue teams are still searching for the aircraft, which was first reported missing at around 1335 GMT.

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Twitter just before the show to share the sad news and dedicate her ? performance to him . It was a night of highs and lows for Vanessa Hudgens , who announced that her father died of cancer just before her highly anticipated performance in Fox ' s " Grease : Live . " The " High School Musical " alum took to Twitter just before the show to share the sad news and dedicate her ? performance to him . Boyz Men , who sang " Beauty School Dropout " and Joe ? Jonas , fronting the band ( his own band ) at the high school hop , added cameo heat . Stunt cast Eve Plumb ( who was Jan ? Brady ) , Barry Pearl ( Doody in the movie ) , and the film ' s Frenchy , Didi Conn , playing against Jepsen ' s , brought the old into the new . As the principal and the coach , Ana Gasteyer and Wendell Pierce were the show ' s other significant adults . 11 : 19 a . m . : An earlier version of this column misspelled the name of the group Boyz Men as Boys Men . Technically , the production , directed by Thomas Kail ( " Hamilton " ) and ranging ? over two stages and the studio backlot and smartly incorporated the audience into the action , was something of a marvel ? and relatively glitch free ? though the camera work , to be cinematic and possibly make the sets look as big as possible , veered uncomfortably , at times nonsensically between lenses and angles . This did the choreography no favors , especially . It ' s often the case in modern film musicals that nondancers are made to look like dancers by editing , but the direction here often had the effect of masking the dancing rather than focusing on it . See the most read stories in Entertainment this hour Read the story Robert Cary and Jonathan Tolins ' elaborations upon and additions to the original ? a string of hookups and breakups and sex jokes on the way to an O . Henry ending in which the greaser letters in track and the good girl goes ( a little bit ) bad ? were often beneficial , enriching or expanding characters or providing better motivations for their actions . There were self referential jokes as well ( " The television audience is pretty forgiving , " was one sly interpolation ) it is more a showcase for charisma than character .

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A rookie police officer shot and killed an unarmed 28 year old man in an unlit stairwell of a housing project in what New York ' s top cop said Friday was " a very unfortunate tragedy . . . involving an accidental discharge . " The victim , identified as Akai Gurley , was " a total innocent who just happened " to run into Officer Peter Liang in a " pitch black " stairwell at the Louis H . Pink Houses in Brooklyn late Thursday , New York Police Commissioner William Bratton told reporters . Shot once in the chest , Gurley died at a hospital later . Liang , with less than 18 months on the job and on probationary status , has been placed on modified assignment and stripped of his gun and badge pending an investigation . " A life was lost and my heart goes out to the family of the young man , " Mayor Bill de Blasio said . " It does appear to have been an accident . " The shooting comes amid strained police community relations after the July death of Eric Garner at the hands of police on Staten Island . The chokehold death of the unarmed 43 year old man sparked street protests , a review of police procedures and calls for a federal civil rights investigation . A grand jury will decide whether to bring charges against the officer . A few weeks later , the police shooting in Ferguson , Missouri , of unarmed teenager Michael Brown thrust into the forefront the issue of law enforcement ' s use of deadly force . A grand jury decision on whether to charge Officer Darren Wilson is expected soon . " What happened in Ferguson is different than what happened on Staten Island is different than what happened in Brooklyn , " de Blasio said . " Each of them has their own dynamic . " Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson , in a statement , said the shooting was " deeply troubling and warrants an immediate , fair and thorough investigation . " " Many questions must be answered , including whether , as reported , the lights in the hallway were out for a number of days , and how this tragedy actually occurred , " Thompson said . Liang and his partner were part of a " violence reduction overtime detail " at the Pink Houses , where a spate of serious crimes have been reported in recent months , including two robberies and four assaults , Bratton said . The officers had taken an elevator to the building ' s top floor to check on the roof and were taking the stairs down from the 8th floor , Bratton said , when the officer discharged the weapon . There were no lights in the stairwell leading up to the roof . Liang drew a flashlight and his weapon " for safety reasons , " the police commissioner said . The other officer did not draw his gun . In the darkened stairwell , Liang ' s gun discharged about the same time that Gurley , the father of a 2 year old child , and his girlfriend were entering the seventh floor landing , Bratton said . The lights on the seventh and eighth floors were not working , Bratton said . The police commissioner said the decision on when to draw a weapon is the discretion of officers " based on what they are encountering or believe they may encounter . So there is not a specific prohibition against taking a firearm out . But again , as in all cases , an officer would have to justify the circumstances that required him to or resulted in unholstering his firearm . " The shooting also is being investigated by police internal affairs . " This is a tragic situation , " de Blasio said . " It does appear to have been a very tragic accident . "

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Reuters) - Tropical Storm Lidia s death toll rose to at least seven people, including two children, as the storm doused various states in Mexico with heavy rain on Saturday and left a severe trail of damage in the Baja California peninsula, authorities said. The victims were either electrocuted or drowned while trying to cross streams, according to a report from the prosecutor s office in the state of Baja California Sur, home to the tourist area Los Cabos, that was cited by local media. The storm, which continued to churn through various states, particularly in Western Mexico, also cut off power and damaged homes and roads in Baja California Sur, where some 3,000 people were taken to shelter. Lidia was located 110 kilometers north of Punta Eugenia, moving at a speed of 19 kilometers per hour to the northeast with maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour, the National Hurricane Center in the U.S. said.

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Brent up a fraction , U . S . crude steady near three month lows on surplus supply ( Reuters ) Brent crude oil futures rose in Asian trading on Friday , with U . S . crude holding unchanged near three month lows after a persistent supply glut cut prices by up to 13 percent since the start of November . Front month Brent futures for January had climbed 12 cents at 44 . 30 a barrel as of 0613 , following the previous session ' s 4 cent gain . U . S . crude ' s West Texas Intermediate ( ) futures held steady at 40 . 54 a barrel after edging up in earlier trades . It ended down 21 cents at 40 . 54 a barrel on Thursday . " Oil markets are really moving range bound . . . mainly because fundamentals have yet to change , " said Daniel Ang , an investment analyst at Phillip Futures Pte Ltd . " Markets are a bit fearful that Iranian oil could come in . " Ang separately said in a report on Friday that prices are " forming a descending triangle pattern which suggests possible drops in prices in the near term . " Crude futures have already lost around 60 percent of their value since mid 2014 as supply exceeds demand by roughly 0 . 7 million to 2 . 5 million barrels per day to create a glut that analysts say will last well into 2016 . Market data suggests that oil traders are preparing for another downturn in prices by March 2016 , as what is expected to be an unusually warm winter dents demand just as Iran ' s resurgent crude exports hit global markets after sanctions are ended . " Uncertainty is so high in the world ' s crude markets which are in rebalancing procedures . Prices will have high volatility in 2016 and particularly in the first half there is a high risk of falling prices , " Kang Yoo jin , commodities analyst at Investment and Securities based in Seoul , said in a report . Kang said expected stronger U . S . dollars if U . S . interest rates are hiked in coming months could weaken demand for dollar denominated crude futures oil as the contracts will be considered expensive to other currency holders . bank said on Friday : " The weakness in the front end of the curve has pushed the market to deep contango again . " The bank noted the spread between near month futures and December 2016 contract prices has hit a new record of nearly 8 a barrel . Asian shares looked set to hold on to this week ' s gains , while the dollar took a breather on Friday after stepping back from seven month highs as investors grappled with the prospects of higher U . S . borrowing costs and slower global economic growth . ( Reporting by Meeyoung Cho Editing by Ed Davies , Anupama Dwivedi and Michael Perry )

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Roger Federer arrives in London for the World Tour Finals with a point to prove . The 17 time grand slam champion , arguably the greatest player to ever pick up a racket , is outside the top four of the world rankings for the first time in a decade . Drops in form and fitness have plagued the once all conquering Swiss , but one prominent coach is confident Federer can return to the peak of the sport if he can address a niggling back problem . " He lost many matches because of the back , he lost confidence because of that and also he cannot practice the way he wants because his back is hurting . " He ' s been out of shape too many times in the year and at that level you cannot perform when you are out of shape . " Federer , who recently split from coach Paul Annacone , is appearing in the season ending showpiece for a record equaling 12th year in a row . The Swiss has also won the tournament more times than any other player in history , with Federer heading to London ' s O2 Arena in search of a record extending seventh title . Mouratoglou is confident Federer , currently down in seventh in the world rankings , still has what it takes to challenge the top players in the men ' s game . " His back is the main thing , " he added . " I cannot say he would be No . 1 still because the men are very close to each other . " I think Rafael Nadal has always caused problems to Roger , but he would be in the top three . " World No . 1 Nadal tops the bill at the World Tour Finals and is bidding for a first win at the event , while six time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic is looking to add to the titles he clinched in 2008 and 2012 . British fans will be disappointed that Andy Murray misses as he continues his recovery from a back injury , but 2009 U . S . Open champion Juan Martin del Potro will be in attendance . David Ferrer , Tomas Berdych and Federer ' s compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka will also take part in the eight man round robin competition . Frenchman Richard Gasquet completes the line up . The world No . 9 has benefited from Murray ' s withdrawal .

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Getty - Michael Bocchieri Opinion is an opinion platform and any opinions or information put forth by contributors are exclusive to them and do not represent the views of IJR. In July, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York overturned a ruling in Microsoft v. United States that forced Microsoft to hand over private email correspondence and other data to law enforcement from servers based in Dublin, Ireland. It was a victory for privacy because the Department of Justice (DOJ) was unable to force compliance of the Stored Communications Act . But last week, the expressed interest in re-hearing Microsoft v. United States , once again jeopardizing domestic and international privacy rights. If the decision is overturned, not only will Microsoft’s security be threatened, but so too will all foreign nations that house data owned by any US-based company. If the July ruling is indeed overturned, the Fourth Amendment will be seriously weakened and taxpayers will have no assurance that continued overreach by the will be stopped. Not only will future domestic investigations not need a warrant, but neither will those of an international scope. The utter lack of safeguards in place would point to a foreseeable overreach by U.S. investigators and the destruction of the nation’s diplomatic efforts. The U.S. government would assuredly be mad if a foreign country took private data and intelligence from our soil without a warrant. After all, the U.S. has started wars over more trivial matters. So why would any reasonable court believe that the U.S. has a special “hall-pass” to do whatever it pleases with other nations’ data? The root of the problem is the Stored Communications Act, which is part of the outdated Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). Under ECPA, any data held by U.S.companies fewer than 180 days old can be “legally” confiscated by the government. Of course, the problem with this antiquated policy becomes quite apparent when applied to a modern world - a world where data is consumed at ridiculous rates. was signed into legislation before personal computers were around and when a gigabyte of storage cost more than $200,000 . Nowadays, practically everybody uses a computer and a gigabyte of storage costs just 4 cents. If the Microsoft case is re-opened, the would have the ability to use ECPA’s outdated loopholes to circumvent the Fourth Amendment and force data-based companies to comply, regardless of whether or not they have a warrant. Thankfully, Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Dean Heller (R-Nev.) have already introduced a bipartisan bill that will rectify the problem. Their bill, the International Consumers Protection Act (ICPA), will repeal and replace the antiquated wording of ECPA. The legislation will distinguish between search warrants that seek data held abroad for U.S. persons as opposed to foreign citizens, with the objective of upholding the Fourth Amendment to preserve the privacy rights of Americans. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, the co-sponsors explained that, “when technology companies receive demands from U.S. law enforcement to turn over data on behalf of foreign customers, they are forced to make a difficult decision: either comply with the demand and satisfy U.S. law and risk violating the privacy laws of the host country, or challenge U.S. law enforcement’s request in order to comply with the laws of the host jurisdiction.” No legislation should force companies to be placed in such a difficult position, especially given the fact that the legislation threatens the very rights that provided the foundation for the success of firms like Microsoft. has the potential to quell the DOJ’s temper tantrum while paving the way for future policy that will protect our data from the “oversight” of policy makers. This will foster the preservation and growth of law enforcement and consumer privacy while respecting the Bill of Rights. Congress can and will fix the problems with current law. Officials in the don’t need to mess it up any further by re-opening Microsoft v. United States . Instead, they should open their pocket Constitutions and take another look at the Fourth Amendment.

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Washington New disclosures that the Internal Revenue Service targeted liberals as well as conservatives in assessing applications for tax exempt status have reshaped perceptions of the scandal , shifting the focus away from Republican claims of political villainy . targeting included liberal groups Investigations by the , congressional committees , the Treasury inspector general ' s office and the continue , but Monday ' s revelations bolstered assertions by agency officials and Democrats that the problem was egregious mismanagement instead of intentional misconduct by the Obama administration . Shifting polls contradict key deposition " These groups are in some ways giving the appearance that their primary purpose is the common good , the common welfare . . . when they are actively engaged in political activity , for which they shouldn ' t be getting a tax deduction , " Pelosi said . However , Rep . Paul Ryan of Wisconsin argued too many questions remain unanswered to stop investigating whether politics played a role in the controversy . " What we still don ' t know is who ordered this kind of targeting , why did it take so long for them to clean it up ? " Ryan , the 2012 vice presidential nominee , told . Asked if the claim of political motivation now seemed less valid , he responded : " I don ' t know the answer to that , so we ' re going to let the facts take us where they take us . " In particular , Ryan said he wanted more details on why conservative oriented groups had their tax exempt applications stalled and experienced harassing behavior by the , such as having to answer inappropriate questions about the beliefs and activities of members . At the same time , he sounded like Pelosi in saying the bigger question involved the practice of targeting , rather than who specifically got targeted . " We know that the did target people based upon their political beliefs , " Ryan said . " Who cares whether they ' re right or left ? . . . The fact that they ' re targeting people for harassment based upon their political beliefs should be cause enough alone for outrage . " That ' s a big change from inferences by leaders in recent weeks that the Obama administration was likely behind the targeting that started in 2010 in an effort to subdue political rivals . With no evidence to date of any such connection , it was unclear how hard congressional committees would continue pushing the issue . The led House Ways and Means Committee has scheduled a hearing on Thursday on an initial review of the targeting by the agency ' s temporary leader , Daniel Werfel . President Barack Obama appointed Werfel to clean up the mess last month after an inspector general ' s audit uncovered targeting of applications that contained conservative themed words such as " tea party . " The audit by Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J . Russell George only cited the targeting of conservative groups , which it said ended in May 2012 . Read watchdog ' s report In his first substantive report on the agency , Werfel said Monday that its tax exempt unit used multiple lists of inappropriate criteria in assessing tax exempt applications until earlier this month , more than a year later than previously revealed . The " Be on the Lookout " or lists included liberal themed words such as " progressives " and other politically oriented terms such as " occupy " and " medical marijuana " in alerting workers to check for unacceptable political activities , according to copies made available by Democratic Rep . Sander Levin of Michigan . Werfel said he has suspended the use of lists in considering tax exempt applications for now . A statement by Levin questioned why George ' s audit focused only on lists that contained conservative labels . The inspector general ' s report " served as the basis and impetus for a wide range of congressional investigations , and this new information shows that the foundation of those investigations is flawed in a fundamental way , " Levin ' s statement said . A spokesperson for George later responded that the report focused only on criteria used to refer cases for extra scrutiny of potential political activity that would make groups ineligible for tax exempt status . Republicans have claimed the controversy amounted to political retribution against enemies of the administration , an accusation denied by the White House and the . McConnell : Obama administration a ' culture of intimidation ' In response to Levin ' s statement , House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep . Dave Camp , R Michigan , said the inclusion of " progressives " on a list did not prove that liberal groups underwent the same extra scrutiny of conservative groups cited in the inspector general ' s report . The release of George ' s audit last month ignited a political firestorm in Washington while fueling conservative mistrust of Obama ' s administration as an example of big government gone wild . Werfel noted Monday that his internal investigation , while still incomplete , found no evidence so far of intentional wrongdoing by personnel or involvement by anyone outside the . He also said no evidence had emerged that in appropriate targeting extended into other areas of the agency . Five managers have been replaced , from the previous acting commissioner whom Werfel succeeded to the head of the unit based in Cincinnati that handles tax exempt applications . In addition , Werfel created an Accountability Review Board to recommend within 60 days " any additional personnel actions necessary to hold accountable those responsible " for the targeting disclosed by the inspector general ' s report . White House spokesman Jay Carney said Monday that Obama believes Werfel ' s report " is an important step in ensuring accountability for any staff that acted inappropriately , identifies the failures in their systems that allowed the misconduct to happen , and takes a forward looking systemic view at the agency ' s management . " In his audit that disclosed the misconduct , George said there was no evidence of a political motive . However , he is continuing to investigate the matter , along with the and the congressional committees . As part of his review , Werfel said 80 groups awaiting action on their applications for tax exempt status for more than 120 days could self register with the agency as long as they certified under penalty of perjury that they would comply with applicable laws and regulations . At the heart of the matter is what kind of organization can qualify for tax exempt status . Regulations limit such status to groups primarily involved in social welfare activities , while political groups are considered ineligible . Confusion over defining what constitutes political activity versus social welfare activity contributed to the targeting by the , Werfel said . An statement on Monday said the " safe harbor " option for self certification would apply to groups that " certify they devote 60 or more of both their spending and time on activities that promote social welfare . " " At the same time , they must certify that political campaign intervention involves 40 or less of both their spending and time , " the statement said . Applicants meeting those thresholds would get approval within two weeks of seeking self certification , it said . Earlier : What ' s a 501 ( c ) ( 4 ) ? Werfel said the would continue checking on tax exempt groups to ensure they were following the law . Separately , the House Oversight Committee , which has been aggressively investigating the matter , plans to meet on Friday to consider a resolution aimed at resolving questions about whether a key agency official must testify . Lois Lerner was the director of exempt organizations when the agency filtered applications for tax exempt status . She appeared before the committee in May and said she had broken no laws or regulations and then invoked her constitutional right not to answer questions . Lerner pleads the 5th Several committee Republicans questioned whether she waived that right by making her opening statement , and Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa said she could be called back at a later date if that were the case .

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Walking into the Khatmul Nabeen Masjid ( mosque ) , you can for a moment forget that you ' re in Afghanistan . Beautiful buildings , walkways , flowerbeds and even a grass soccer pitch . Mohammed Asif Mohseni is said to be behind the law . Young men and women , dressed in Muslim attire , walk around freely and with smiles . Smiles are a bit of a rarity in today ' s Kabul , a polluted city of survival and despair , so this was both shocking and refreshing to me . We didn ' t have an appointment but we were hoping to interview Mohammed Asif Mohseni , a conservative Shia cleric . He is said to be the man behind the controversial Shia state law , a law critics say strips Afghan Shia women of many rights . While security was checking our bags , one guard said that Mohseni had been waiting for us . I tried explaining that we did not have an appointment . Nonetheless , we were sent back to where Mohseni was waiting . Before entering the room I was cautioned by a guard to make sure none of my hair was showing below my headscarf . They were apologetic one even asked me to zip up my sweater higher because too much of my neck was exposed . I complied , tucking in my hair and zipping my sweater as high as it could go . Now paranoid about the design holes in my scarf that exposed parts of my hair , I took off my shoes to enter . As we walked in , Mohseni , an older man with a white beard wearing a Shia style turban called a " dulband " was sitting on a brown couch . He looked at the two men who brought us in and said , " These aren ' t the two I was waiting for . " I explained that we just showed up for an interview because we did not have a number to reach him . He smiled and said , " I guess you are in luck . " Mohseni welcomed us and asked me to translate his warm welcome to our Scottish cameraman . As the interview started , I noticed that Mohseni avoided my eyes . I wondered if it was because I was female . I was also prepared for verbal attacks a journalist friend told me that when he brought a western journalist to interview Mohseni a few days ago , the journalist ended up having more questions thrown at him than he was able to ask . But it didn ' t take long for Mohseni to warm up and explain why Shia state law is just and a part of Islam . Those who don ' t agree don ' t understand it , he said . " The law . . . which I created I see as correct for both men and women , " he said . " We have given rights to both men and women , even better than rights given to women in the West . We give women more in this law . " I asked him about reports that if a woman does not comply in having sexual relations with her husband , then the husband can refuse to feed her . " Yes , I said that , " Mohseni said looking me in the eye . " When a couple marries , sex is a part of marriage , and they agree to that . " He went on to explain that a woman isn ' t obliged to have sexual relations every single night or if she is told by her doctor to refrain . But otherwise it is her obligation and something she signed up for when she got married . He calls it the wife ' s duty . Mohseni added that a wife wearing makeup " prevents a man from thinking about other women on the streets and he can just think of his wife . " He continued : " It is natural that women ( wear makeup ) . Don ' t they in the West ? Their women wear it on the streets and in shops . Women should put make up on for their husbands as it will increase the love and attraction between the two . " The cleric also explained that a woman is not required to ask the permission of a man to leave the house if she has a job and needs to go to work . But they do need to get permission if they are leaving for other reasons . More importantly , he said , a couple needs to make clear the day they marry whether or not she will need permission to leave the home . If they disagree then they should not get married . According to Mohseni , the West is imposing its beliefs on the Muslim world because they don ' t understand . However , it ' s not just people in the West who are opposed to this law . Many Afghans , men and women , have vehemently resisted it . They fear it will set women back after the progress that has been made in the last seven years . Sima Samar , head of Afghanistan ' s Independent Human Rights Commission , has been working for a year now , trying to amend certain articles within the law . " I feel discriminated . Clear cut . I don ' t feel equal in this country , " she told us . Samar said the law does not represent Islam . It blatantly contradicts the constitution of Afghanistan , which states that men and women are equal . Critics have labeled the law as " Talibanistic , " but Samar says even many of the Taliban ' s actions were not enshrined in law . She admitted that a law for Shias is necessary but that it should be what is stated in Sharia or Islamic Law . " One of the very important pillars in Islam is justice , there is no justice in this law , " she said . Samar also pointed out the absurdities in the law , such as the edict on makeup . " If she doesn ' t ( put on make up ) , will the husband go complain to the police that she didn ' t put ( on ) the lipstick ? Or , ' I like red but she put on pink . ' " However , Samar didn ' t blame the clerics alone for creating the new law she blamed various parts of the government for allowing it to pass . " I think they all of them took the whole issue very superficially . And none of the state institutions , ministry of justice , parliament , senate and the office of the president , really didn ' t look at the law as serious as they should , " she said .

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The race had been scheduled to start at 3 : 15 p . m . , but a downpour soaked the track , delayed driver introductions and sent the Air Titan dryers into action . The forecast calls for thunderstorms throughout the afternoon . So it ' s unclear when the race will start , let alone finish . Television coverage will last on until 7 p . m . With the race now being delayed , is scheduled to shift to coverage for the Cincinnati Arizona game . If the race runs late , coverage will conclude on . ' ' If the finish were to bleed a little bit after 7 , 15 or 20 minutes , we would stay with the race and the crowning of the champion , ' ' Sports Group chairman Mark Lazarus told The Associated Press on Sunday . ' ' Other than that , we will move the race over . ' ' Sports paid 4 . 4 billion for its rights over a 10 year deal and the first year has seen coverage plagued by weather woes . Counting ' s debut in July at Daytona , eight races have been impacted by weather . later said there are ' ' too many variables in play right now ' ' to know when the race would air Monday , if necessary . Lazarus said ratings for races on while down compared to those on boosted the network to its highest third quarter ratings in network history . Lazarus said excitement for the Chase and the ratings would have been heightened had weather not meant late night endings and or mid race shifts to . He said he ' d like to see a similar Chase format in the Truck and Xfinity Series . ' ' We want to continue to refine the Chase and the competition , ' ' he said . ' ' We want them to continue to get people to understand the elimination , the brackets . ' ' He wants the back end of the Chase schedule on next season . Driver introductions are on hold because of rain .

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Scotland head coach Vern Cotter has named Grant Gilchrist as captain of a 33 man squad heading into the autumn internationals . The Edinburgh lock , who twice skippered his country in the summer , will now lead the Scots into battle against Argentina , New Zealand and Tonga next month . Gilchrist is joined in the squad by five of his Edinburgh team mates hot on the heels of their impressive 15 13 win at Bordeaux Begles in the Challenge Cup on Friday . Grant Gilchrist ( above ) has been selected by coach Vern Cotter to lead Scotland in the Autumn internationals Mark Bennett ( above ) of Glasgow Warriors is the only uncapped player in Cotter ' s 33 man Scotland squad But it is Glasgow Warriors , who emphatically upset much fancied Bath 37 10 at the Scotstoun Stadium in the Champions Cup on Saturday , that account for 17 of the players selected . Mark Bennett scored two tries as the Warriors mauled their Aviva Premiership opponents and he is the only uncapped player included . Former Clermont Auvergne coach Cotter began his Scotland reign with three consecutive wins over the United States , Canada and Argentina in June before his side slumped to a heavy 55 6 defeat against South Africa in Port Elizabeth last time out . He will be looking for signs of development this autumn , with a rematch against the Pumas at Murrayfield on November 8 , before they face the might of the All Blacks a week later at the same venue and then finish up against Tonga at Rugby Park , Kilmarnock , on November 22 . Cotter , who won the Top 14 and was a Heineken Cup runner up during an eight year spell with Clermont , will have been boosted by the strong form of both Glasgow and Edinburgh as well as signs that Greig Laidlaw is finding his feet at Gloucester after moving to the English side in the summer . Scotland coach Cotter ( above ) is expecting three difficult tests in Scotland ' s autumn fixtures ' We want to develop , and impose , our style , will , and strategy on our opposition . We want to play well , and enjoy playing in front of our home crowd , ' he told the official Scottish Rugby website . ' Argentina will offer us a very stern test , especially at scrum time . They have good variety and move the ball well from nine , through the middle of the paddock and out the back . ' The All Blacks have just won the Rugby Championship and are the best team in the world , so we ' ll have to be on our toes . ' He added : ' Tonga will be the final big test psychologically , having come through two big games , to play away from Murrayfield , and needing to put in a good performance at Rugby Park in Kilmarnock . ' It ' s essential that we show maturity , mental strength and adaptability throughout the series . '

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21st Century Wire says Some devastating news befell John Sidney McCain recently, as his staff announced that the Senator had been diagnosed with a brain tumor called glioblastoma discovered during recent testing at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona. We wish the Senator well On Episode #195 Chickenhawk Nation of the with co-hosts Patrick Henningsen and Mike Robinson, we break down all the reasons why we think it s time for McCain to retire.The list is endless. We ll start with a real cancer of conflict the senseless truck bombing of Al-Kindi cancer treatment hospital in Aleppo, Syria. The attack carried out by the same freedom fighters that McCain was seen cavorting with during his secret trip to the Aleppo area in May 2013. The very same rebels he was supplying weapons to the Free Syrian Army (under the command of Jabbat al Nusra aka al Qaeda in Syria) would later order the bombing on this cancer treatment hospital. LISTEN: More @21WIRE:

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posted by Eddie Two people who were connected to the Flint water company investigation were both found dead in the space of a week this month. Water Treatment Plant Foreman, Matthew McFarland, and the woman leading the lead poisoning suit, Sasha Avonna Bell, were found dead within days of each other.weblink reports: The Flint water crisis began exactly two years ago, on April 2014, when Flint changed its water source from treated Detroit Water and Sewerage Department water to the Flint River – to which officials had failed to apply corrosion inhibitors. Almost immediately, Flint residents complained about the water’s color, taste and odor. In the following months, numerous water issues arose, with little to no governmental action to fix them. August and September 2014 boil-water advisories were issued by the city due to coliform bacteria detection On August 21, 2014 test showed the city’s water tested high for THMs, a chlorine byproduct of disinfecting water, with which long term exposure has been linked to cancer and other diseases. Though the city stated that the water was safe, the employees of the Flint Public Library declared the water undrinkable after noticing that the water from the faucets and toilets was discolored. On March 2, 2016, it was reported that the state of Michigan blocked Flint from returning to Lake Huron water from the Detroit water system when it agreed to grant the city an emergency loan of $7 million in April 2015 It was discovered that the high levels of lead were due to orthophosphate being omitted from the water treatment process, while using a pH of 7.4 and that the orange water was due to the high concentration of chloride in the Flint River water, which caused excessive corrosion of the cast iron mains pipes. Far from taking decisive action, governments denied that the water was toxic. While the local outcry about Flint water quality was growing in early 2015, Flint water officials filed papers with state regulators purporting to show that “tests at Flint’s water treatment plant had detected no lead and testing in homes had registered lead at acceptable levels.” The documents falsely claimed that the city had tested tap water from homes with lead service lines, and therefore the highest lead-poisoning risks; in reality; the city does not know the locations of lead service lines, which city officials acknowledged in November 2015 after the Flint Journal/MLive published an article revealing the practice after obtaining documents through the Michigan Freedom of Information Act. – Robin Erb, Flint doctor makes state see light about lead in water The net result is that over 10,000 children (mostly Black) were exposed to water contaminated with lead. Lead poisoning has devastating effects on the brain: Childhood lead exposure causes a reduction in intellectual functioning and IQ, academic performance, and problem-solving skills, and an increased risk of attention deficit disorder, aggression, and hyperactivity. According to studies, children with elevated levels of lead in the blood are more likely as adults to commit crimes, be imprisoned, be unemployed or underemployed, or be dependent on government services. – Julie Mack, Lead levels elevated for thousands of Michigan children outside of Flint A massive investigation is now underway and lawsuits are being filed. And things are turning uglier. Cover Up Now that the federal government opened an investigation on the issue, news emerging from Flint are downright sordid. First, in March, important documents went missing, the police openly admits that it was an inside job, and that the crime will most likely remain unresolved. Days before the federal government opened an investigation into the Flint water crisis, someone broke into a vacant City Hall office full of documents related to the embattled Michigan city’s water system. Nearly three months later, officials have confirmed that a went missing, but little else is known, according to the Flint Journal . Without suspects or a firm handle on what else may have been swiped, authorities told the paper last week that the crime may remain unsolved. No warrants have been issued in the case, but officials don’t shy away from speculative statements that stop just short of conspiracy theories. “It was definitely an inside job,” police chief Tim Johnson told the Journal. “The power cord (to the TV) wasn’t even taken. The average drug user knows that you’d need the power cord to be able to pawn it.” “It was somebody that had knowledge of those documents that really wanted to keep them out of the right hands, out of the hands of someone who was going to tell the real story of what’s going on with Flint water.” Days before the federal government opened an investigation into the Flint water crisis, someone broke into a vacant City Hall office full of documents related to the embattled Michigan city’s water system. – Washington Post, The mystery surrounding missing water files at Flint City Hall: ‘It was definitely an inside job’ On April 16th, Water Treatment Plant Foreman Matthew McFarland (who had been interviewed regarding the water crisis) was found dead at the young age of 43. Cause of death? Unknown. Already reeling from the news of criminal charges against one of its workers in the wake of the Flint water crisis, city workers are now dealing with the sudden death of a foreman at the plant. Water Treatment Plant Foreman Matthew McFarland, 43, of Otter Lake died suddenly on on Saturday, April 16, according to his obituary. The Lapeer County Sheriff’s Department said a friend found McFarland unresponsive at a home in Otter Lake. There were no signs of foul play. An autopsy did not determine a cause of death and police are awaiting toxicology reports. The investigation remains open. “My thoughts and prayers go out to Matt’s co-workers, his family and especially his children,” said Flint Mayor Karen Weaver. “He worked for the City of Flint for more than 18 years and we thank him for his devotion and service.” We all have been brought together by this water crisis and we are all mourning his death,” Weaver said in a statement. “In lieu of flowers, the family has expressed they would appreciate donations to establish a fund for (his children) Vance and Ella’s college expenses.” McFarland’s death comes as Flint’s water plant deals with news that Flint Utilities Manager Michael Glasgow is one of three men facing criminal charges in connection with the city’s water crisis. Glasgow is accused of tampering with evidence when he allegedly changed testing results to show there was less lead in city water than there actually was. He is also charged with willful neglect of office. Michigan Department of Environmental Quality employees Stephen Busch and Michael Prysby are charged with misconduct in office, conspiracy to tamper with evidence, tampering with evidence and violations of the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette’s office confirmed that McFarland was previously interviewed as part of its ongoing investigation into the city’s water crisis. – mlive, Flint water plant continues to reel with sudden death of foreman A few days later, a 19-year old woman leading the Flint water crisis lawsuit was found shot dead in her home. A culprit was arrested. Was he a patsy? A woman at the center of a bellwether Flint water crisis lawsuit was one of two women who were shot to death inside a townhouse earlier this week. Sasha Avonna Bell was one of the first of a growing number of people to file a lawsuit in connection to the Flint water crisis after she claimed that her child had been lead poisoned. Bell was found dead April 19 in the 2600 block of Ridgecrest Drive at the Ridgecrest Village Townhouses. Sacorya Renee Reed was also found shot to death in the home. An unharmed 1-year-old child was also found inside of the Ridgecrest home when Bell’s body was discovered and was taken into custody by child protective services. Police declined to confirm if it was Bell’s child discovered in the home. “Sasha was a lovely young woman who cared deeply for her family, and especially for her young child,” said her attorney Corey M. Stern. “Her tragic and senseless death has created a void in the lives of so many people that loved her. Hopefully, her child will be lifted up by the love and support from everyone who cared deeply for Sasha.” Bell’s case was one of 64 lawsuits filed on behalf of 144 children by Stern’s firm, New York-based Levy Konigsberg, and Flint-based Robinson Carter & Crawford. The lawsuit named six companies that had various responsibilities with respect to the treatment, monitoring, and safety of the Flint water prior to and during the Flint water crisis, according to her attorneys. The case also named three individual government, or former government, employees who played significant roles in the alleged misconduct that led to the alleged poisoning of thousands of children in Flint, her attorneys claim. The Bell case, however, played an important role in determining the future of the more than five dozen other lawsuits that were filed. – mlive, Woman in leading Flint water crisis lawsuit slain in twin killing. Everything about this story is revolting and dirty facts are emerging from everywhere. However, mass media largely ignores this story. Those that do are flooded with comments about “tin foil hats” and “conspiracy nutters”. It is as if shills are paid kill that story online … or maybe that poisonous lead has already done its debilitating, mind-numbing job. source:

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New Mexico Gov . Bill Richardson signed a bill Wednesday repealing the death penalty in his state , his office confirmed . New Mexico Gov . Bill Richardson signed legislation repealing the state ' s death penalty . " Regardless of my personal opinion about the death penalty , I do not have confidence in the criminal justice system as it currently operates to be the final arbiter when it comes to who lives and who dies for their crime , " Richardson said in a statement Wednesday . He noted that more than 130 death row inmates have been exonerated in the past 10 years , including four in New Mexico . " Faced with the reality that our system for imposing the death penalty can never be perfect , my conscience compels me to replace the death penalty with a solution that keeps society safe , " he said . With the governor ' s decision , New Mexico joins 14 other states that don ' t impose the death penalty . Several other states , including Colorado , Kansas , Maryland and Montana , are considering changes to their capital punishment laws . See which states have bills to do away with capital punishment The bill replaces the death penalty with life without the possibility of parole . New Mexico currently has two men on death row and has executed one person convicted child killer Terry Clark , in 2001 since the United States reinstated the death penalty in 1976 . As the legislation is written , it will not affect current death row inmates . " Throughout my adult life , I have been a firm believer in the death penalty as a just punishment in very rare instances , and only for the most heinous crimes . I still believe that , " Richardson , a Democrat , said . " The issue became more real to me because I knew the day would come when one of two things might happen : I would either have to take action on legislation to repeal the death penalty , or more daunting , I might have to sign someone ' s death warrant . " Rep . Gail Chasey , who first introduced House Bill 285 in 1999 , said the bill would relieve families of the burden of a lengthy death penalty trial and appellate phase and restore the focus to crime victims . " Every time there is a court hearing , a conviction , an appeal , the focus is on the defendant , but the family still has to go through it all again and again . It ' s very , very hard for the families . It reopens the wounds each time , " she said . The legislation will also spare the state cost of mounting a death penalty trial , which Casey said typically costs more than a non death penalty trial . " We can put that money toward enhancing law enforcement , public works , you name it , " she said . Richardson also said he was troubled by the fact that minorities are " over represented in the prison population and on death row . " Minorities make up more than half of the death row population nationwide , according to the Washington based Death Penalty Information Center , a nonprofit group that opposes the death penalty . The American Civil Liberties Union said Richardson ' s decision should " send a powerful message to other states " about the need to reevaluate " our error prone , discriminatory and bankrupting system of capital punishment . " Local and state law enforcement associations opposed the bill . Richardson agreed the death penalty is a tool to deter crime , but said it was not the only tool . " For some would be criminals , the death penalty may be a deterrent , " he said . " But it ' s not , and never will be , for many , many others . " The state legislature approved the measure last Friday . Prior to signing the legislation , Richardson received thousands of e mails and phone calls weighing in on the matter . As of noon Wednesday , the governor ' s office said it had received 10 , 847 phone calls , e mails and walk in comments from people who wanted to voice their opinions on the legislation . Of those , 8 , 102 were for a repeal of the death penalty and 2 , 745 were against it , according to Richardson ' s office . In addition , Richardson met Monday with more than 100 New Mexicans to discuss the issue , his office said . Other states also have considered repealing their capital punishment laws this year . In Kansas , state senators voted Monday to send such a bill back to committee , The Kansas City Star reported .

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World champion Sebastian Vettel apologized to Red Bull teammate Mark Webber after defying orders to snatch a " risky " victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday and go to the top of the driver standings . Webber had been poised for the 10th victory of his career and first since July as he led comfortably after the team ' s final pit stops , and was told to hold back to maintain his car until the finish at the Sepang circuit . Vettel , however , took the opportunity to edge past the veteran Australian and claim his 27th race win , having started from pole position for the second time in two events this season . " I want to say sorry to Mark , " the German told reporters , having been rebuked by his team boss Christian Horner on the radio as they dueled on the track . " This is silly Seb , come on , " Horner warned . " He was trying to save the car and tires , but I took a lot of risk in passing him when he was trying , " the 25 year old Vettel added . " I didn ' t ignore that , but I shouldn ' t have done it . " He later said on the Red Bull website : " I put myself above a team decision , which was wrong . I didn ' t mean to and I apologize . I ' m not happy I ' ve won , I made a mistake and if I could undo it I would . It ' s not easy right now and I owe apologies to Mark and the team . " Webber , who has often complained that triple world champion Vettel has favored status within the Austrian owned team , made his displeasure known at the postrace press conference . " The first part of went very well , " the 36 year old said . " In the end we got the right strategy , and it was about controlling the race , getting everything in the race right , but the team told me to turn the engine down . " But I want to race as well . Seb made his own decisions and he will have protection as usual and that ' s the way it goes . " See : Sepang interactive and latest standings He also added a statement on the team website . " There ' s a bit of history to this as well my mind in the last 15 laps was thinking about a lot of things , " Webber said . " Of course I ' m not satisfied with the result . This puts heat on a few people and unfortunately there ' s no rewind button . I know people want raw emotion from us after these situations and it ' s there , but we need to remain cool . There ' s three weeks until the next race , so time for us to work on things . " Horner said the incident was " frustrating . " " Formula One is both a team and an individual sport and sometimes there is a conflict between a driver ' s desire and a team ' s interest , " he said . " What happened today is something that shouldn ' t have happened . " Our position after that final pit stop was all about managing the race until the end and conserving our tires , getting the cars to the finish and achieving maximum points . " Team orders have long been a controversial part of F1 , and were banned in 2002 . However , that rule was dropped in 2011 after it became apparent that teams were finding ways around it . On Sunday , Lewis Hamilton benefited from team orders as he claimed his first podium finish for Mercedes after colleague Nico Rosberg was told not to attack him as both drivers were seeking to maintain their cars . Team boss Ross Brawn said on the radio : " Negative Nico , negative . Lewis ' pace is what we are asking him to do . He can go a lot faster as well , so please be in control as well . " " If I ' m honest he should be standing here , he ' s a great teammate and did a fantastic job , " Hamilton said of Rosberg , who outperformed seven time world champion Michael Schumacher at Mercedes the past three seasons . " We brought the car home and I ' m glad to get a result for them , but it ' s not the best feeling being up here . " The 2008 world champion almost made an embarrassing error when he tried to pit in the garage of his former team McLaren bringing back memories of when Jenson Button did similar soon after his move to the British marque . " I did a Jenson as he did that a couple of years ago , " the English driver said . " I ' ve had so many years making pit stops with McLaren , but I got it wrong , so a big apology to my teammate . " Button ' s disappointing season continued when he failed to finish in the points after being sent out from his final pit stop with a loose front wheel , having been fifth at one stage . His new teammate Sergio Perez scored his first points for McLaren as he came home ninth ahead of Toro Rosso ' s Jean Eric Vergne . Felipe Massa claimed fifth place but his Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso the race winner in Sepang last year and overall runnerup paid for an early mistake that broke his front wing and ended his 200th career grand prix as he stayed out on the track too long without getting it repaired . " Today we had a good car , and I don ' t think we were too far from the Red Bull pace , especially in the race , " the Spaniard said . " Looking now after the incident for sure it is the wrong decision ( to stay on the track ) . If this unlucky combination had not happened , and in lap three we stop , we change the tire and the nose and we win the race here , the team are heroes . " Romain Grosjean was sixth for Lotus ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen , who won the opening race in Melbourne last Sunday but this time started from 10th after being given a three place penalty for blocking Rosberg during Saturday ' s qualifying . The Finn was fastest in Friday ' s practice , but downplayed his hopes in the race . Nico Hulkenberg was eighth to earn Sauber ' s first points this season .

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Reuters) - Leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, who has said he wants to be a bridge between the British government and the new U.S. administration, will attend U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration later this month. Farage, who will attend the event as a guest of Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, spoke at a Trump rally in Mississippi during the U.S. presidential campaign and was the first British politician to meet the president-elect after his victory, ahead of Prime Minister Theresa May. Farage spent decades campaigning for Britain to leave the European Union and helped to force then Prime Minister David Cameron to call the June 2016 referendum that resulted in the Brexit vote. Trump has said Farage - the former leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) - would be great as Britain’s envoy to Washington, but the British government has dismissed the suggestion. Asked if he would be attending Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, Farage told Sky News: “I certainly am, I can’t wait.” “The governor of Mississippi has invited me and I’m there for a few days and it’s going to be a great, historic event. In America they’ve had a political revolution and it’s complete; the problem in Britain is our revolution is not complete because the same people are still in charge.”

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Reuters) - Hurricane Irma knocked out power to nearly 4 million homes and businesses in Florida on Sunday, threatening millions more as it crept up the state s west coast, and full restoration of service could take weeks, local electric utilities said. Irma hit Florida on Sunday morning as a dangerous Category 4 storm, the second highest level on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, but by afternoon as it barreled up the west coast, it weakened to a Category 2 with maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour (177 kph). So far, the brunt of the storm has affected Florida Power & Light s customers in the states southern and eastern sections, and its own operations were not immune, either. We are not subject to any special treatment from Hurricane Irma. We just experienced a power outage at our command center. We do have backup generation, spokesman Rob Gould said on Sunday. FPL, the biggest power company in Florida, said more than 3.2 million of its customers were without power by 10 p.m. (0200 Monday), mostly in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. More than 200,000 had electricity restored, mostly by automated devices. The company s system will need to be rebuilt, particularly in the western part of the state, Gould said. That restoration process will be measured in weeks, not days. is a unit of Florida energy company NextEra Energy Inc. Large utilities that serve other parts of the state, including units of Duke Energy Corp, Southern Co and Emera Inc, were seeing their outage figures grow as the storm pushed north. Duke s outages soared to 390,000 from 60,000 in a span of four hours on Sunday evening, and the company warned its 1.8 million customers in northern and central Florida that outages could ultimately exceed 1 million. The company updated its website on Sunday evening with a warning to customers that outages may last a week or longer. Emera s Tampa Electric utility said the storm could affect up to 500,000 of the 730,000 homes and businesses it serves, and over 180,000 had already lost power. The utilities had thousands of workers, some from as far away as California, ready to help restore power once Irma s high winds pass their service areas. About 17,000 were assisting FPL, nearly 8,000 at Duke and more than 1,300 at Emera. Tampa Electric told customers on Sunday, however, that response crews were halting work because of the high winds. said on Friday that Irma could affect about 4.1 million customers, but that was before the storm track shifted away from the eastern side of the state. Its customers are concentrated in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. The utility said its two nuclear plants were safe. It shut only one of the two reactors at its Turkey Point nuclear plant about 30 miles (48 km) south of Miami on Saturday, rather than both, because the storm shifted. It plans to leave both reactors in service at the St. Lucie plant about 120 miles (193 km )north of Miami because hurricane-force winds are no longer expected to hit the sites. There is also spent nuclear fuel at Duke s Crystal River plant, about 90 miles (145 km) north of Tampa. The plant, on Irma s current forecast track, stopped operating in 2009 and was retired in 2013. In a worst-case scenario, the spent fuel could release radiation if exposed to the air, but a federal nuclear official said that was extremely unlikely. That fuel is so cold, relatively speaking, it would take weeks before there would be any concern, said Scott Burnell of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. As the storm has come ashore, gasoline stations have struggled to keep up. In the Atlanta metro area, about 496 stations, or 12.2 percent, were out of gasoline, according to information service Gas Buddy.

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On Wednesday’s Breitbart News Daily, SiriusXM host Raheem Kassam asked guest Frank Gaffney about a post he wrote on the Center for Security Policy blog, in which he endorsed a call by Jeanine Pirro of Fox News for House Speaker Paul Ryan to resign following the failure of the House Obamacare replacement bill. [As he wrote in the post, Gaffney stipulated that “health care is not my field, by any means,” so he did not mean to criticize the substance of the House bill. “I think what is of concern is that this was a doomed approach,” he said. “Paul Ryan, who is supposed to be helping President Trump get through his agenda in the House of Representatives and the congress more generally, should have known better. He either didn’t, which justifies removal on the grounds of incompetence, or did — in which case I think the argument is that he’s simply not a reliable partner for the president in getting this agenda done. ” “On either grounds, I think that it would be necessary for the country, not just for the Trump presidency but for the country, to have leaders in both the House and the Senate who want to ensure that the president’s projects, the president’s agenda, the president’s promises to the American people — which I think were momentous, not just for health care reform but in so many other respects, including the return to the prospect of peace through strength, which if course is near and dear to my heart, and I think yours Raheem — is going to be a necessary condition going forward,” he argued. “From a layman’s perspective, from a person who understands as a layman the importance of health care, this seemed to be a statist — well, ‘Obamacare Lite’ it’s been called — approach, when a free market approach seems to be called for,” Gaffney said. “I think that’s what Donald Trump set out to do. That’s what he promised the voters. It’s what I think you could get a majority of the Congress behind, if it is clear that in the process, you’re not going to abandon people who genuinely need health care support. ” “It goes back to kind of the fatal flaws of Obamacare, and just making it a little better at the margins, which is I think, at best, what you could say Ryan was up to. It was clearly unsatisfactory and was, as I say, doomed to fail,” he pronounced. Gaffney added compliments to Rep. Mark Meadows ( ) and the House Freedom Caucus for “ensuring that it did fail. ” “I think they’ve done a great service, despite all the brickbats being thrown their way, for President Trump as well as for the country,” he said. Gaffney conceded that choosing a possible replacement for Rep. Ryan as Speaker of the House was a difficult task. “I think there are a number of people who could probably command the support of the majority of the House,” he said. “It wouldn’t be for me to pick them. Some have been willing to serve in the past. Daniel Webster comes to mind, he seems to be a very presentable guy. It would be obviously up to him or others in the House to stand for this, if in fact Paul Ryan were to create a vacancy — which I hope he will do. ” Breitbart News Daily airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 weekdays from 6:00 a. m. to 9:00 a. m. Eastern. LISTEN:

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California When director Antoine Fuqua rolls into a community to shoot a movie , he becomes part of that community . Filmmaker Antoine Fuqua began a program to foster young moviemakers in poor communities . This isn ' t the case of a Hollywood filmmaker cherry picking glamorous locations like Beverly Hills or Manhattan . Fuqua ' s interests lie a few miles away , in the grittier section of town . For his 2001 blockbuster , " Training Day , " he took stars Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke and shot in South Central Los Angeles deep in the ' hood . And last year , the housing projects in Brooklyn ' s Brownsville district were key to his latest feature , " Brooklyn ' s Finest . " Hawke stars once again , this time alongside Richard Gere , Don Cheadle and Wesley Snipes . Although Fuqua carries himself with the confident ease of someone who enjoys a certain stature in the industry , he ' s at home in the projects . And he should be . He was raised in a Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , public housing complex , and hasn ' t forgotten what it ' s like to dream about making it out of the ghetto . Yet now that he ' s out , he wants back in . Watch more about how Fuqua mentors young filmmakers During the filming of " Brooklyn ' s Finest , " he initiated the non profit Fuqua Film Program an intense , 12 week moviemaking course eligible to young adults from Brownsville , ages 16 to 20 . Last year , three students got the chance to write , direct and edit their own short film . This year , he hopes to expand the program to 10 to 15 students . Down the road , he ' s looking to bring the project to his native Pittsburgh , then roll out to other urban areas . After all , in Hollywood , it ' s all about who you know and Fuqua wants to give neighborhood kids the opportunity to know him . Antoine Fuqua : We selected three kids four kids , actually ( one could not complete the program because he was sent to Juvenile Hall ) . . . . The concept was to have them write an essay to find out which ones really had the passion for filmmaking . Most of the applicants were 18 , 19 years old . Some lost their parents when they were 13 , 12 , 10 . A few were involved in gangs or someone in their family is involved in gangs . A young lady just wanted to find a way out of living in the projects , and she wanted to go to college . So it was a number of things I found compelling , but most of all , they all had a little bit of light and a little bit of hope in each letter . Fuqua : Right . " No excuses . " Exactly . That concept came from my parents and my grandmother the idea that you can ' t make excuses for things you don ' t have . You just have to go get ' em . . . . If they go after it as they did with the essays someone ' s going to hand you a tool and say , " Here you go . Now what ? " And then it ' s up to you to prove that you have what it takes . Fuqua : ( Laughs ) The next generation , yeah . They kind of took over the director ' s chair . I was over directing the actors , and I happened to turn around , and I just saw all these kids all around my monitor , and I said , " Well , sit down , go ahead . Put the headsets on . You know , if you ' re going to be here , you can listen and hear what ' s going on . " And they loved it . I ' d see them smiling , and laughing , and every time I yelled , " Cut ! " they were clapping . And then a few of them would yell , " Cut ! " and " Action ! " I like to just go in there and say , " This is all happening in your neighborhood , these two , three hundred crew members black , white , every other color . " You know , a crew is like a United Nations . It ' s an immediate opportunity to meet and greet people other than the ones you see every day in your community . We ' re there at four or five in the morning . We leave whenever we finish , which is normally in the middle of the night sometimes . So they see that dedication and that work ethic , and they see how we all get along and how we all have to communicate . And somewhere , I believe , it affects their behavior and how they deal with their lives . Fuqua : I ' m just like them . I come from the projects in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , in the Hill District , so I know what it feels like to walk into these concrete buildings ( the housing projects ) and think that ' s the world . My goal is to show them that ' s nothing that ' s a blip in the world . . . . Several people gave me opportunities . Mario Van Peebles was doing a little film in Pittsburgh and I was just a little kid running around , and I got to meet him . He was acting in it , and he was really nice and said hello to everybody . It wasn ' t a situation where they said , " Go away ! You can ' t be part of this . " Fuqua : Yeah , Denzel was giving them the real talking . . . . He ' s involved with the Boys and Girls Club , and he does a lot quietly people don ' t even know . When I shot " Training Day , " he was , " Absolutely you ' ve got to shoot down there in South Central where else you gonna shoot it ? ! " And I remember one day down on the set with Denzel , I was filming and I couldn ' t find him , and I looked up on the porch , and he was up there on the porch with all these older women , and they were cooking for him , and all the young kids were around , and he was just hanging out where all the people were . And that told me right away what kind of person he was . I don ' t know how many times he was in his trailer . He was always with the kids him and Ethan ( Hawke , his co star ) hanging out with everyone . And that influenced me a lot because I realized by watching the effect they had on these kids . Fuqua : I ' m satisfied when I hear them talking about wanting to go to Europe , or curious of who Caravaggio is the painter or tell me they saw a Kurosawa film last night , and they never saw him before . You know , it ' s like the world is starting to open up their eyes are opening up . Maybe one of those kids is going to be the next Steven Spielberg , or the next Denzel , or who knows the next Antoine .

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North Korea is to blow up a key part of its controversial Yongbyon nuclear reactor on Friday . Hyun Hak Bong ( right ) , North Korea ' s deputy negotiator to six party talks , crosses the border into South Korea on June 5 . The destruction of the plant ' s cooling tower is part of an agreement with the United States aimed at denuclearizing the Korean peninsula in exchange for loosening some restrictions on the highly secretive Communist country . Earlier this year , Pyongyang agreed to disable its nuclear reactor and provide a full accounting of its plutonium stockpile , " acknowledge " concerns about its proliferation activities and its uranium enrichment activity , and agree to continue cooperation with a verification process to ensure no further activities are taking place . North Korea has been taking Yongbyon ' s main reactor apart , but imploding the cooling tower is an exceptionally important psychological step given that the highly recognizable shape of the structure is synonymous with nuclear power plants . The United Nations ' nuclear watchdog , the International Atomic Energy Agency , says it would take a year to rebuild if North Korea decided to go back on its agreement , and that the construction could not be done in secret . Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended U . S . diplomacy toward North Korea last week , saying the deal with Pyongyang made Asia and the U . S . safer . Speaking at the Heritage Foundation , a conservative Washington think tank , Rice said that " North Korea will soon give its declaration of nuclear programs to China . " China is the host of the six party talks aimed at ending North Korea ' s nuclear program , along with Russia , South Korea , Japan and the United States . Rice spoke in advance of her upcoming trip to Asia where she will be attending a meeting of G8 foreign ministers and meeting with her Asian counterparts . Rice said once North Korea submits its declaration , President Bush will notify Congress he intends to remove North Korea from the U . S . list of state sponsors of terrorism and scrap some sanctions levied against North Korea because of nuclear concerns . But she noted that there would be no practical effect to loosening the restrictions because North Korea still was under the same sanctions because of other areas of U . S . law . Rice said a 45 day review would then begin to see if North Korea is telling the truth and living up to its end of the deal struck in the six party talks . " Before those actions go into effect , we would continue to assess the level of North Korean cooperation in helping to verify the accuracy and completeness of its declaration , " she said . " And if that cooperation is insufficient , we will respond accordingly . " The United States softened its demand that North Korea publicly admit to having a highly enriched uranium program and to providing Syria with nuclear technology , key unanswered questions that have left negotiations stalled for months . North Korea has already handed over about 18 , 000 documents on its nuclear past to the U . S . , which the U . S . says are critical to verify North Korea ' s claims . Rice said that the deal with North Korea wasn ' t perfect but offered the U . S . the best chance to learn about North Korea ' s nuclear history . " We must keep the broader goal in mind : the elimination of North Korea ' s nuclear weapons and programs , all of them , " she said . " North Korea has said that it is committed to this goal . We ' ll see . " Rice said that " no final agreement can be concluded " unless the U . S . verifies North Korea ' s claims .

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Muslims across respond with shock and outrage after San Bernardino massacre of 14 Faizul Khan ( 74 ) , an Imam at the Islamic Society of the Washington Area , said he was horrified by the San Bernardino shooting . He said he feared the shooting would strengthen calls to increase surveillance on mosques in the . Photograph : Jamal Saidi Reuters Muslim Americans fear their religion will be demonised and Islamophobia will spread after a young Muslim couple was accused of carrying out one of the bloodiest mass killings in the United States . Across the country , Muslim Americans responded with shock and outrage after a shooting in which authorities said Syed Rizwan Farook ( 28 ) , and Tashfeen Malik ( 27 ) , stormed a holiday party attended by San Bernardino County employees in California on Wednesday , killing 14 people and wounding 21 . I was at the gym yesterday while the shooting was taking place and all the TVs were showing that footage and all I could keep thinking to myself is God , I hope they don t have any Eastern descent , not just Middle Eastern , anything we d associate with a Muslim , said Adam Hashem ( 32 ) , in Dearborn , a Detroit suburb with one of the country s largest Muslim populations . We re all worried . We re all concerned , he said . It was the deadliest mass shooting since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre three years ago . While the motivation remained unclear as authorities investigated the attack , details of Farook and Malik began to emerge . Farook was described as a second generation American born in Illinois and raised by Pakistani parents . Malik was born in Pakistan and lived in Saudi Arabia until she was introduced to Farook . San Bernardino police said they found pipe bombs and several thousands rounds of ammunition at the residence of the couple , who died in a shoot out with police . In Milwaukee , Wisconsin , the Attari Supermarket bustled on Thursday with customers shopping for Middle Eastern products . In every culture and in every religion there are bad apples that will spoil the rest of the apples . That has happened toward us , said Dawod Dawod , a 25 year old Muslim American , who manages the store that his family has owned for a decade . Police in shootout after at least 14 killed in California attack Between taking orders over the phone , Dawod said he was concerned that politicians will use the mass shooting as a way to further demonise Muslims . He noted Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump s endorsement of the idea of creating a Muslim database . It s scary . he said . Ninety nine per cent of Muslims are hardworking , good people . Muslim community groups condemned the massacre and urged the public not to blame Islam or Muslims . The Muslim community stands shoulder to shoulder with our fellow Americans in repudiating any twisted mindset that would claim to justify such sickening acts of violence , said Hussam Ayloush , an executive director at the Council on American Islamic Relations . Within hours of the shooting , his group had organised a news conference with Los Angeles Muslim leaders and the brother of suspected shooter Malik to condemn the assault . The speed at which they went on live television to do so underlined the depth of concerns in a community already buffeted by a rise in anti Muslim rhetoric this year and increased public scrutiny after the November 13th attacks in Paris that killed 130 people and were claimed by Islamic State militants . Some Muslims say they have felt singled out during a presidential race that has tapped a vein of anger and bigotry from comments by Trump to those by fellow Republican candidate Ben Carson , who said in September that Muslims were unfit for the presidency of the United States . There are some 2 . 8 million Muslims in the country . Some Muslims questioned whether this week s shooting will embolden supporters of Trump , who is current front runner to be his party s nominee in the November 2016 election and who has backed the idea of requiring all Muslims living in the to register in a special database as a counter terrorism measure . Critics have also accused Trump of stirring resentment toward Muslims by asserting that he saw thousands of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating the destruction of the World Trade Center towers on September 11th , 2001 . That claim has been disputed by public officials . Faizul Khan ( 74 ) , an Imam at the Islamic Society of the Washington Area , said he was horrified by the San Bernardino shooting . Unfortunately people don t understand that we as Muslims we basically want to promote what is good and just for the entire humanity . He said he feared the shooting would strengthen calls to increase surveillance on mosques . Achraf Issam ( 22 ) , national spokesman for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association in Silver Spring , Maryland , said it makes no more sense to say that Islam led to the San Bernardino shootings than to say Christianity led to an attack on the Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado last week by a suspect police have named as Robert Lewis Dear . No one one should say that , because this couple is Muslim , that it led them to commit those acts , he said . That sentiment was echoed by Sara Nabhan ( 20 ) , a junior majoring in biology at the University of Houston who was born in Jordan and came to Texas when aged 2 . Two people s actions do not constitute a whole population s actions , she said . Jersey City real estate agent Magdy Ali ( 52 ) , of Egyptian descent , said he uses the name Alex when working to avoid conflict with people who distrust Islam . He said he expects Trump to use Wednesday s massacre to push for anti Muslim measures such as monitoring of mosques . We are in a jam right now , he said .

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A federal civil complaint in Texas claims the defendants may have falsified prescriptions , lied to pharmacies and perhaps even broken the law , but they ' re not drug runners . They ' re officials from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice , responsible for executing death row inmates . The complaint , filed in October , is one example of the lengths death penalty states are willing to go to acquire drugs for lethal injections . Texas , which declined to comment on the pending case , is among 32 death penalty states scrambling to find new drug protocols after European based manufacturers banned U . S . prisons from using their drugs in executions among them , Danish based Lundbeck , which manufactures pentobarbital . " The states are scrambling to find the drugs , " says Richard Dieter , executive director of the Washington based Death Penalty Information Center . " They want to carry out these executions that they have scheduled , but they don ' t have the drugs and they ' re changing and trying new procedures never used before in the history of executions . " States have been forced to try new drug combinations or go to loosely regulated compounding pharmacies that manufacturer variations of the drugs banned by the larger companies . The suit against Texas alleges the state corrections department falsified a prescription for pentobarbital , including the patient name as " James Jones , " the warden of the Huntsville Unit " where executions take place , " according to court documents . Additionally , the drugs were to be sent to " Huntsville Unit Hospital , " which , the documents say , " has not existed since 1983 . " The suit said the pharmacy was unaware of the purpose for the order and when it found out it canceled the order before it was filled . The plaintiffs also allege the state did not produce a purchase order , instead using an individual employee ' s credit card to make the purchase . The pharmacy is asking the to return the drugs it sold the state . It is unclear whether they have . Maurie Levin , one of the attorneys representing the inmates , said , " We believe that ' s purchase of compounded pentobarbital from Woodlands Pharmacy violates numerous state laws . The vast majority of compounded drugs can only be mixed or sold pursuant to a doctor ' s prescription . did not get a prescription for its purchase of compounded drugs . There are exceptions to the requirement , but ' s purchase does not qualify for any of them . " Death row inmates say using untested drugs is " cruel and unusual punishment , " and several have filed federal lawsuits to delay executions until drug protocols have been reviewed . Ohio was set to execute Ron Phillips on Thursday using a two drug cocktail never before used in an execution . Ohio ' s Department of Rehabilitation and Correction said it " was unable to obtain a sufficient quantity of pentobarbital . " Instead it was set to use the sedative midazolam and pain killer hydromorphone in a lethal dosage . Ohio Gov . John Kasich stayed Phillips ' execution this week pending a review of possible organ donation to his family members . Missouri was set to use propofol , the infamous drug from the Michael Jackson case , in an execution last month , but the governor halted it after he was warned the European Union might halt shipments of the drug , leading to shortages for medical purposes . Deborah Denno , a law professor at Fordham University , said a new combination of drugs used in the execution of Florida inmate William Happ last month took 14 minutes to kill him instead of the usual seven . " There is absolute chaos among the states , " Denno said . " So , every few months it seems we see a different state using a different type of drug , or types of drugs . " Jim Petro , the Republican former attorney general of Ohio , presided over 19 executions but no longer supports the death penalty . " An attorney general is bound to follow the statute , " he said . " Duty is duty . " Dieter said using untested drugs amounts to experimentation on human beings : " They ' re guilty people who did these crimes , but that doesn ' t ameliorate our ethical obligations . "

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It gets more outrageous by the day for the Trump campaign when it comes to racism and racists. It appears Trump has assembled a political team and a fan base of individuals who are racist to the core. Take for example current Trump campaign spokesperson Katrina Pierson. Back in 2012, Pierson took to Twitter and lamented at the lack of pure breeds running for president in reference to President Obama, who has a father of Kenyan descent, and Mitt Romney, whose father was born in Mexico.Perfect Obama's dad born in Africa, Mitt Romney's dad born in Mexico. Any pure breeds left? #CNNDebate Katrina Pierson (@KatrinaPierson) January 20, 2012In her tweet, Pierson implies that having a parent born oversees somehow makes someone less American, or to put it in more eugenical terms, less pure. That s interesting, since Donald Trump s mother was actually born in Scotland. One can easily infer why she would find Scotland more acceptable to be born in than Kenya or Mexico.Pierson is in agreement on all of Trump s policies, including supporting the ban on Muslims from entering the United States. She also advocates using America s nuclear arsenal in some capacity against perceived enemies saying, What good does it do to have a good nuclear triad if you re afraid to use it? Katrina Pierson is not without a checkered history. She s been accused of collecting thousands of dollars in welfare benefits while working. She also made a recent appearance on where she wore a necklace made of bullets. After anti-gun advocates called her out, she promised to wear a necklace made of fetuses. Pierson also has an arrest record for shoplifting. Ironically, four years before her wacky tweet, Pierson sued her previous employer for racial discrimination.Donna Pierson s antics and her checkered history shouldn t be surprising. After all, she s helping steer one of the most racist and frightening presidential campaigns in American history. Let s hope that the country can find a few good laughs with these crazies and put them all in the dust bin of history when the time comes.Featured Image Via YouTube Screenshot.

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Tune in to the Alternate Current Radio Network (ACR) for another broadcast of The Boiler Room tonight 6:00 | 8:00 | 9:00 for this special broadcast. Join us for uncensored, uninterruptible talk radio, custom-made for bar fly philosophers, misguided moralists, masochists, street corner evangelists, media-maniacs, savants, political animals and otherwise lovable rascals.Join hosts Hesher and Spore along with Daniel Spaulding of Soul of The East, Funk Soul (ACR/21WIRE contributor) and Basil Valentine of Sunday Wire for the second chapter of the 100th episode of ROOM. Water the kids, put the plants to bed and get your favorite mead horn ready so you can drop deep into the Boiler Room with the crew. Tonight the gang is discussing American forces being sent into Syria, the utter insanity of the leftist media distracting their audience with false realities being sold to the highest bidder, the dilerbrate destruction of critical thinking among the population, Vault 7 releases from wikileaks and the wiretapping of (then) Presidential Candidate Trump.Direct Download Episode #100.2Please like and share the program and visit our donate page to get involved!Reference Links:

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A famous South Korean rock singer is just hours away from swimming into the diplomatic row over a small group of rocky islets in the East Sea , or the Sea of Japan . Kim Jang hoon is among dozens of amateur athletes who left the eastern port of Uljin Monday , bound for Dokdo , a largely uninhabited set of volcanic islands claimed by both South Korea and Japan , known by Tokyo as Takeshima . The group ' s 55 hour , 230 kilometer relay swim is expected to end Wednesday , on the 67th anniversary of Korea ' s independence from Japanese colonial rule . Before jumping into the water , singer Kim Jang Hoon told reporters : " I will never make such a comment as ' Dokdo is our territory ' when I arrive there . It ' s meaningless to do so because they are undeniably our territory , " according to the Yonhap news agency . The politically charged event comes days after Lee Myung Bak broke with convention to become the first South Korean president to visit the contested islands . Read more : What ' s behind island dispute ? " Dokdo is indeed our territory and a place worth staking our lives to defend . Let ' s make sure to safeguard ( the islets ) with pride , " he was reported to have told police officers stationed on the islands . Lee ' s visit inflamed Japan which recalled its ambassador to Seoul , Masatoshi Muto , and threatened to take the dispute to the International Court of Justice . " President Lee visited Takeshima , which is an inherent territory of Japan , both in the light of historical facts and based on international law . Therefore it is incompatible with the position of Japan , and so I made a strong protest on the matter , " Japanese foreign minister Koichiro Gemba told a press conference Friday . Read more : Man crashes Japanese embassy over disputed islands Japan has long claimed the islets as its territory , but Seoul said all Korean territory was returned after the country won independence from colonial rule by Japan in 1945 . According to a South Korean website on the islands , Dokdo has a population of three and amid the craggy rocks sit a lighthouse , lodge , helicopter landing pad , and a police station manned by South Korean officers . The recent flare up over who owns the islands even spilled onto soccer the pitch during the final days of the London Olympics . At the request of Japan , the International Olympic Commitee withheld the bronze medal from South Korean player Park Jongwoo after he held a banner during post match celebrations supporting South Korea ' s ownership of the islands . Dokdo Takeshima is one of several of disputed island chains in the region and fears are emerging that competing territorial claims in the South China Sea could create a new Cold War in Asia . China , Vietnam , the Philippines , Malaysia , Brunei and Taiwan all have claims in the area and tensions have risen in recent months .

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Juan Mata has described playing with Wayne Rooney as a ' privilege ' following the Manchester United captain ' s match winning display against Newcastle on Boxing Day . Despite playing in a midfield role , Rooney netted the first two and assisted Robin van Persie ' s third during the 3 1 victory , and Mata believes that he is more than capable of continuing to excel in a deeper position . ' I think he can play there , yes , ' declared Mata in a post match interview with . ' He can defend , he can attack , he can pass and he can score goals arriving into the box . Juan Mata ( left ) says it is a privilege to be playing alongside Manchester United team mate Wayne Rooney Mata combined with Radamel Falcao ( right ) to create Rooney ' s opener against Newcastle ' For us , he is a very important player and I feel privileged to play with such a player as Wazza . ' Rooney has been moved into midfield of late to accommodate Van Persie and Radamel Falcao up front . And Mata said he is enjoying playing alongside such an impressive array of attacking talent . ' I really enjoy playing with all players like that ( Rooney , Falcao , van Persie ) . As strikers , they offer you a lot of movement so you can pass the ball to them , ' he explained . Rooney then added his second goal of the game with half time approaching to double their advantage Rooney runs away with his arms outstretched after giving United a two goal lead on Boxing Day Robin van Persie ( right ) then added a third for United from a Rooney assist in the second half With fixtures coming thick and fast over the festive period , Manchester United have little time to rest ahead of their next game , as they travel to face Tottenham less than 48 hours after their win over Newcastle . And Mata has admitted that preparing physically for games in such a short space of time is a tough challenge . ' We just want to keep playing well , ' he continued . ' Physically it ' s difficult to be ready for Sunday ' s game but mentally we are ready . We now recover today and tomorrow ( Friday and Saturday ) and try to be the fittest we can for Tottenham . '

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Inspired Murray leads Britain to Davis Cup title , Belgium : The moment Andy Murray has pursued with fanatical zeal arrived , unforgettably , on Sunday when an outrageous lob arced over Belgium ' s David Goffin to seal Britain ' s first Davis Cup title for 79 years . Fittingly for a player who has almost single handedly guided his country to a 10th title , the indefatigable Murray ended Goffin ' s inspired resistance with a moment of sheer brilliance few could conjure to complete a 6 3 7 5 6 3 victory . It gave Britain a winning 3 1 lead and started a party that hundreds of visiting fans decked out in union flags and Scottish saltires will keep going long into the night in medieval Ghent . Murray , who looked close to exhaustion at the end of the three hour contest that was far closer than the scoreline suggested , collapsed on to the claycourt before being swamped by his team mates and captain Leon Smith . Sportingly he clambered to his feet to console Goffin who had gallantly clung on to the hope of keeping alive Belgium ' s chances of winning the title for the first time . Murray then saluted the ' Barmy Army ' , who roared his every winner over a weekend that rubber stamped his place in the chronicles of British sporting greatness . " I never thought we would have the opportunity to do this and I can ' t believe we have done it , " an emotional Murray , who became the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years in 2013 , said on court . " The atmosphere was phenomenal . I imagine we ' ll have a party tonight . " World number two Murray , whose return to the Davis Cup team in 2013 sparked Britain ' s rapid rise from the depths of the competition , has won 11 live rubbers in this year ' s run , matching Ivan Ljubicic ' s total for Croatia in 2005 . He has won all eight singles he played while teaming up three times with brother Jamie for crucial doubles wins , one of which came on Saturday to put Britain 2 1 ahead . The small Scottish town of Dunblane , where the Murray brothers grew up , could justifiably claim its name should be inscribed on the trophy . " Andy has shown himself to be an absolute superstar . He will be the first to say that it is a team thing but what he has done is astonishing . I am proud of everyone , " captain Smith said . Murray was forced to play some of his best tennis against a dangerous opponent who was roared on by a soccer style crowd inside the claustrophobic arena . Goffin squandered a break point at 2 2 in the opening set and Murray then pounced , scorching a backhand winner off a weak second serve to move 4 2 ahead . Murray wrapped up the first set with a forehand winner but there was no chance of Goffin ' s challenge fading . The Belgian world number 16 played some sensational tennis to stay ahead in the second set but could not take the few chances that came his way . Murray broke in the 11th game when Goffin netted a forehand and clinched the set with a stupendous forehand winner . He wobbled briefly when he dropped serve early in the third set but the world number two responded to move 5 3 ahead before providing the most spectacular of climaxes .

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Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke by telephone with China’s top diplomat on Tuesday and affirmed the importance of a constructive U.S.-China relationship, and the two agreed on the need to address the threat posed by North Korea, the State Department said. Tillerson and Yang Jiechi, China’s state councilor who outranks the foreign minister, also discussed economics and trade as well as potential cooperation on counterterrorism, law enforcement and transnational crime, the State Department said in a statement.  The call appeared to be the latest effort by the world’s two largest economies to put relations back on an even keel after a rocky start following U.S. President Donald Trump’s November election victory. “Secretary Tillerson and State Councilor Yang affirmed the importance of a constructive bilateral relationship,” the U.S. statement said. “The two sides agreed on the need to address the threat that North Korea poses to regional stability.” The call follows a meeting between China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Tillerson on Friday, their first face-to-face encounter since Tillerson began his job at the start of this month. In that meeting, Wang stressed that common interests between China and the United States far outweigh their differences. Trump angered Beijing in December by talking to the president of Taiwan and saying the United States did not have to stick to the “one China” policy, under which Washington acknowledges the Chinese position that there is only one China and Taiwan is part of it. Trump also accused China of not doing enough to rein in its neighbor North Korea. However, in a phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last week, Trump agreed to honor the “one China” policy, a major diplomatic boost for Beijing, which brooks no criticism of its claim to self-ruled Taiwan. “China hopes the two countries, following through on the spirit of the phone conversation, could uphold the principles of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation as well as enhance high-level exchanges,” Yang told Tillerson, according to China’s Xinhua news agency. China’s readout of the call did not mention any specific issues, with Xinhua noting only that they also “exchanged some views on a number of international issues.” On Saturday, China’s Commerce Ministry said it would ban all coal imports from North Korea until the end of this year after Pyongyang tested an intermediate-range ballistic missile in its first direct challenge to the international community since Trump took office. China announced in April it would ban North Korean coal imports to comply with U.N. sanctions aimed at starving Pyongyang of funds for its nuclear and missile programs. However, it made exceptions for deliveries intended for “the people’s wellbeing” and not connected to the weapons programs. Other areas of disagreement between the United States and China include trade imbalances and China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.

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Italy ' s World Cup captain Fabio Cannavaro has made a surprise decision to end his career in Dubai . The 36 year old has signed a two year deal with reigning United Arab Emirates league champions Al Ahli after failing to find a new club in Serie A following the end of his deal with Juventus . In a statement on its official Web site on Wednesday , the Dubai based club confirmed that Cannavaro would move to Al Ahli after the World Cup in South Africa , which starts on June 11 . " We announce that we have signed Fabio Cannavaro for two years , " Abdullah Al Nabooda , chairman of Al Ahli ' s board of directors said . " This deal with a player like Cannavaro is one of the most important deals for us because he ' s a player with great experience and talent , while he ' s also a leader on the field . " Cannavaro who has 132 caps for his country and led the Italians to victory over France in the 2006 World Cup final is planning to retire from international football after the South African tournament , which will be his fourth . He played at Inter Milan and Real Madrid before moving to Juventus in 2009 , and had hoped to earn a deal with his hometown club Napoli , where he began his career . " The option to extend my deal with Juventus has expired . I want Napoli , but they don ' t want me , " he told Italian sports paper Tuttosport last week . However , Cannavaro said he was now happy to make the move to the Middle East . " I am happy to sign for Al Ahli for the next season . I was already planning to go and live in Dubai , I love that city . It ' s a dream come true , " he told Italian newspaper La Gazetta dello Sport . Meanwhile , British media have speculated that Al Ahli is also interested in signing manager Harry Redknapp , 63 , from London based English Premier League side Tottenham next season .

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Marco Rubio unveils Florida support , rallies to take on Democrats An annual Florida fundraiser featured Marco Rubio He urged Republican stalwarts to rally ahead of the 2016 election It s not just the presidential race on the ballot , he reminded them Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio speaks at the Sunshine Summit opening dinner on Thursday in Orlando . Tom Benitez Orlando Sentinel His star in the presidential race on the rise , Marco Rubio dropped in Thursday on one of the groups that knows him best : the Republican Party of Florida . On the campaign trail , Rubio likes to note that he s twice defied the Florida establishment : in 2010 when he ran for the U . S . Senate against the sitting Republican governor and now as a candidate in the same race as former Gov . Jeb Bush . Rubio made sure to remind Republicans ? light heartedly ? of his track record Thursday night . Five years ago when this party was under different leadership , I couldn t even get a table , because I happened to be running against the then sitting governor of Florida for U . S . Senate , Rubio began , referring to Charlie Crist . Apparently he s now running for the Congress as a vegetarian . Yeah , he s running out of parties indeed . Rubio spoke at the party s annual Statesman s Dinner , a sold out fundraiser that drew nearly 1 , 000 people on the eve of the Sunshine Summit , a two day event featuring 13 of the 15 Republicans running for the 2016 presidential nomination . He played the role of motivator to party stalwarts ahead of the 2016 election . Tomorrow you re going to hear from a bunch of candidates running for president that are going to ask you to vote for them , and I ll be one of them , Rubio said . ( One out of six Republicans is running for president , he joked . ) Tonight , I want to talk to you about why the next president needs to be a Republican , because we simply cannot afford another four years like the last eight . Rubio spoke for a little more than 20 minutes , without notes , and kept his promise of not explicitly asking Republicans for their vote Thursday night . But he still deployed much of his campaign speech . One of several mentions of Democrat Hillary Clinton prompted boos from the crowd . Rubio was introduced by a longtime friend , state Rep . Jeanette Nu ? ez of Miami . We ve shared lots of laughs . We ve shared special moments . We ve shared the pain of loss , she said . And we ve even seen our children ? our older children ? grow up to be teenagers and have their own Instagram accounts , and I can tell you , that is far more scary than running for president of the United States . When he took the microphone , Rubio noted he had learned something new : I had no idea my kids had an Instagram account , so we re going to have to look into that . During his speech , Rubio didn t name a single of his rivals . Bush had also been invited to the dinner , but he campaigned instead in New Hampshire . Fans of both Bush and Rubio worked the room in Lake Buena Vista . Many were identifiable by lapel stickers pledging allegiance to one candidate or the other . The two men are scheduled to deliver remarks separately Friday . Earlier Thursday , Rubio unveiled a list of campaign chairmen in every Florida county , intended as a show of his widening home state support . Many of them are new to the political arena , state co chair Adam Hasner , a former state lawmaker , said in a statement underscoring Rubio s appeal to a younger Republican generation . Some of the notable Miami Dade County backers were familiar , however , including Miami Mayor Tom s Regalado , Miami Commissioner Francis Suarez and County Commissioners Esteban Bovo and Rebeca Sosa . Rubio still lags far behind Bush in endorsements , which Bush has assiduously courted all year . On Thursday , Bush announced more than 130 supporters in Palm Beach County alone . He s already lined up support from the state s three Cabinet members , most of the state Senate and more than 300 people in Miami Dade , both men s home county . It has been Rubio s strategy , though , to roll out his campaign slowly and methodically , in an effort to save money and not peak until just the right moment .

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Manchester United will not need another motivational speech from Wayne Rooney on Tuesday night to explain just how important the Cup could be in defining their season . Louis van Gaal ' s side face League Two Cambridge United at Old Trafford and could take another step on the road to Wembley which has opened up after the exits of Chelsea and Manchester City . And Rooney is desperate to win the one domestic honour that eludes him . Wayne Rooney is desperate to win the Cup with Manchester United . . . the only trophy that ' s eluded him Manchester United let a 3 1 lead slip to fall to a 5 3 defeat against Leicester in September Jamie Vardy celebrates scoring Leicester ' s fourth goal of the game against United Van Gaal revealed how the United captain was not afraid to tell team mates what was expected of them against Leicester City on Saturday in light of their 5 3 defeat by the same side in September . ' Rooney said before the start of the match , " Do you remember how we lost that ? " , ' said Van Gaal . ' Everyone wanted revenge . It ' s good and it is also that same feeling with Cambridge . ' Everything is against you at Manchester United and everything is in favour of the underdog . ' But , in spite of all the criticism we have had , we are still in the Cup and a lot of teams are not . ' Adnan Januzaj , Rooney ( centre ) and Robin van Persie ( right ) look on frustrated during the match Ryan Giggs ( left ) and Louis van Gaal ( right ) look on despondely as United fall to defeat at Leicester Luke Shaw ( left ) in action against Cambridge understands why Rooney is so desperate to win the Cup With Chelsea and City set to contest the title race , Van Gaal ' s only realistic hope of a trophy in his first season at Old Trafford lies with the Cup . Asked if Rooney has been emphasising the importance of the competition , defender Luke Shaw said : ' Of course he has . Wayne hasn ' t won it and he ' s going to want to win it this year . ' But the whole team look at it as a trophy we all want to win especially now it ' s the main priority because the league , I wouldn ' t say it ' s gone , but we ' re quite far away . '

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Remember those " Where ' s Waldo " books ? You know , the ones featuring a bespectacled , beanstalky character dressed in a red and white striped shirt and hiding in massive crowds . Objective : find him , turn page . A fascinating online project is using that same spot that one thing construct to try to save rhinos and other wildlife from poaching at a wildlife reserve in Namibia . Part of the MicroMappers effort , the Namibia project gathered 500 volunteers " digital rangers , " in the group ' s parlance over the weekend to sift through aerial photos looking for wildlife . The goal was to survey more land more quickly than on the ground rangers could , and to consequently protect rhinos and the like from poaching or other threats . The online army of volunteers , which included people from dozens of countries , surveyed more than 25 , 000 aerial photos shot by drones from Friday to Sunday , according to the group ' s website . They circled wildlife they found , and uploaded their findings . Volunteers could spend as much or as little time as they wanted . " It is challenging but a really fun challenge , " Patrick Meier , director of social innovation at the Qatar Computing Research Institute , which was behind the project , wrote in an email to me . " ( It ) makes me feel like a digital Indiana Jones or Sherlock Holmes . " So , pick your metaphor : Waldo , Jones or Sherlock . It ' s cool no matter how you describe it . The effort grows out of Meier ' s work with Ushahidi and others to help citizens map and analyze data in response to natural disasters , like the 2010 Haiti earthquake . It also builds on the citizen science movement , which seeks to involve everyday people in real scientific endeavors , from analyzing whale songs to mapping the structure of proteins . I love these projects not just for their do gooder potential , but also because they encourage people to get involved in the news , and to learn something new about the world . As Meier put it : " Hopefully now people know where Namibia is on the map ! " ( Sub Saharan Africa , by the way , northwest of South Africa and south of Angola ) . I asked Meier to answer a few questions about the Namibia wildlife project over email . The following is a copy paste version of that conversation , edited for length and clarity : Sutter : What ' s the name of the project and who ' s behind it ? Meier : It ' s called MicroMappers , a joint initiative between the Qatar Computing Research Institute and the U . N . ' s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ( ) . In terms of the MicroMappers Wildlife Namibia deployment , this is a joint collaboration with the Qatar Computing Research Institute , Drone Adventures , Kuzikus Wildlife Reserve , Polytechnic of Namibia , and l ' cole Polytechnique F d rale de Lausanne . Sutter : How did it come about ? Meier : As a digital humanitarian response to Typhoon Pablo in the Philippines 2012 . We had experimented with micro tasking to analyze pictures posted on Twitter to support the U . N . ' s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ' rapid damage assessment efforts . After this largely successful response , called me up and asked me if I ' d be ready to replicate this effort ( micro tasking ) in future disasters . More recently , given the increasing use of unmanned aerial vehicles ( UAVs , or drones ) in humanitarian response , we decided to develop the Aerial Clicker . The purpose of the Aerial Clicker is to crowdsource the analysis of aerial imagery for disaster response . The Qatar Computing Research Institute wanted to test the new Aerial Clicker but not in the middle of a disaster . Given our existing collaboration with Drone Adventures ( a group aiming to help citizens map the word with drones ) , I approached the latter and offered to help their partners in Namibia analyze their aerial imagery . This would help the rangers assess whether crowdsourcing could support their future wildlife monitoring and protection work while helping us test the Aerial Clicker in a nondisaster situation . Sutter : The MicroMappers said over the weekend that about 500 " digital rangers " participated in this project . Who are they what sorts of day jobs do they have , etc ? Meier : It ' s hard to say since many don ' t sign in to volunteer but , anecdotally , a combination of digital humanitarian volunteers and individuals who are interested in wildlife protection , from all ages and walks of life . I know that several U . S . schools are involved , since several teachers got in touch with me earlier . Here ' s a note I got from a woman who is participating : " I am very grateful and looking forward to being even a small part of MicroMappers . I donate to National Geographic and also make purchases that benefit conservation of land and the animals that habitate them , including purchases of the book ' Tigers Forever , ' etc . It was always my dream to go to Africa to help the wildlife in any way I could , but realistically that is not possible for most . So thank you so much for helping me to participate in this program , and giving us , the public , an opportunity to help , hopefully this can be another step towards stopping the poachers . " Sutter : What ' s the end goal ? Or what big questions are you hoping will be answered ? Meier : The big questions we ' re hoping to answer : Can the crowd accurately identify and trace features of interest in high resolution aerial imagery captured by ( drones ) ? Is the Aerial Clicker ready for prime time ( i . e . a deployment during a disaster ) ? Are the resulting traces of high quality enough to develop machine learning classifiers to potentially semi automate the identification of features in future deployments ? Sutter : Where do the images come from and who will analyze the findings ? Meier : The images come from Drone Adventures . We will analyze the results together with the rangers at Kuzikus Wildlife Reserve . Sutter : This seems like adult " Where ' s Waldo " to me but , I guess , with a purpose ? Meier : Yes , " Where ' s Waldo " with a purpose . Incidentally , one of our next pilots will likely be later this year in the Philippines . A local partner , called SkyEye , is doing some great work around the use of UAVs for disaster response . After major typhoons in the Philippines , one important element of disaster damage assessment is to determine how many coconut trees have been uprooted destroyed since this impacts local livelihoods and food security . To date , SkyEye has had to manually count destroyed coconut trees in the many aerial pictures they take . So what we want to do is to upload these images to the Aerial Clicker and launch a similar challenge to determine whether the crowd is able to accurately identify said coconut trees . We ' re also interested to explore whether these resulting traces can be used to create a machine learning classifier for destroyed coconut trees . In general , one of the main use cases for the Aerial Clicker is infrastructure damage assessment . That said , given the interest around the Namibia challenge , it ' s clear that our Clicker ( and the other Clickers ) could be used for applications beyond disaster response . In fact , an archaeologist who uses UAVs as part of his work got in touch to ask about potentially using the Aerial Clicker and crowdsourcing as part of his archaeology projects . We ' re psyched about all the other possible applications and keen to explore these and partner with others . This is very much in line with the mandate and focus of the social innovation program that I direct at the Qatar Computing Research Institute . Sutter : Have you gone digital game hunting yourself ? Is it hard ? Meier : Yes I have ( although I wouldn ' t use the word hunting ) . It is challenging but a really fun challenge makes me feel like a digital Indiana Jones or Sherlock Holmes . There are all those computing games for kids ( mostly ) that ask players to find certain hidden objects in made up pictures . It ' s all fictitious but this ( wildlife challenge ) is real , so you can have fun while doing something meaningful and learning a few things in the process . Hopefully , now , people know where Namibia is on the map ! And have learned a few things about wildlife issues in the country . Sutter : Tell me how this effort fits into the bigger picture both in terms of the crowdsourcing movement and environmental science ? Meier : I ' ve come into this from the digital humanitarian side of things but there are obviously important overlaps with citizen science , which is why I ' ve spent quite a bit of time learning from the pros in citizen science , like Zooniverse . ( I ' m collaborating with them on this other project , by the way , and we ' re hoping to pilot the initiative very soon ) . Zooniverse is really great for large scale citizen science deployments . In our case , MicroMappers seeks to support the " long tail " of citizen science or digital humanitarian projects , i . e . those projects which simply don ' t require hundreds of thousands of volunteers but rather a few hundred to a few thousand . That ' s where we fit in the bigger picture . Sutter : Is this new ? Or how does it push things forward ? Meier : Crowdsourcing the analysis of aerial imagery for wildlife protection is certainly new . I haven ' t heard of any other project like this . But what MicroMappers really pushes forward is how easy it is to become a digital humanitarian or a digital ranger , for that matter . The Clickers are specifically designed so that anyone can volunteer without prior experience or special skills . With MicroMappers , we ' re looking to democratize the digital humanitarian experience .

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